REScheck & COMcheck Falmouth MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Falmouth
- Falmouth is a Stretch Code community - the statewide baseline for new construction and major renovations. IECC Climate Zone 5A.
- Massachusetts has three energy-code levels - base (2021 IECC), Stretch, and Specialized (Opt-In) - and Falmouth is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Falmouth
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Falmouth additions, alterations and renovations (from $300); new-construction performance projects use a full HERS energy model instead.
- Commercial projects use COMcheck for the prescriptive path (from $600); larger new commercial buildings need third-party performance certification under the Stretch Code.
- 24-48 hour turnaround - documentation ready to upload with your Falmouth permit application.
Mass Save rebates for Falmouth (2026)
- All-electric renovations and additions can earn Mass Save incentives up to $20,000 (Level 1) or $30,000 (Level 2) for a single-family home, verified by a RESNET-certified HERS rater.
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REScheck & COMcheck Falmouth MA
From small additions to commercial fit-outs in Falmouth, we deliver the REScheck and COMcheck reports your Barnstable County building department requires — accurate, signed, and turned around quickly.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Falmouth building permit application.
What Is a REScheck and What Is a COMcheck?
REScheck and COMcheck are DOE-developed programs that show a building meets the IECC energy code. Which one your Falmouth project needs depends on whether the work is residential or commercial — here is how they differ.
What is a REScheck?
REScheck is DOE software for residential compliance — detached one- and two-family homes and multifamily buildings three stories or fewer. It runs a UA (insulation and window) trade-off calculation against the IECC, letting extra performance in one assembly offset another so the whole envelope still passes.
What is a COMcheck?
For commercial and four-plus-story residential buildings, COMcheck is required. It documents envelope, lighting, and mechanical compliance against the IECC or ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and produces the certificates a commercial plan reviewer expects.
When Do You Need a REScheck in Falmouth?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Falmouth that do not need a HERS rating. It is typically the right tool for:
- Residential additions of 1,000 sq ft or less that are not more than 100% of the existing home
- Basement and attic conversions that do not change the footprint or roofline
- Renovations and alterations to existing homes that need envelope documentation
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space, where Falmouth's building department accepts REScheck
- New homes only in base-code towns; Stretch and Specialized Code towns require a HERS rating or Passive House for new homes
When Do You Need a COMcheck in Falmouth?
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Falmouth. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Warehouse, industrial, and light-manufacturing conditioned spaces
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
Inside Your REScheck or COMcheck Report
Fast, permit-ready turnaround
We deliver documentation ready to upload with your building permit application, and we answer plan-review questions if the department asks for revisions.
COMcheck report
The COMcheck Envelope, Lighting, and Mechanical Compliance Certificates plus the Plan Review Checklist — the full package a commercial plan reviewer expects for permit submission.
Plans matched to code
We enter your assemblies, fenestration, and (for commercial) lighting and mechanical details exactly as designed, so the report reflects what you are actually building in Falmouth.
REScheck report
A signed REScheck compliance certificate matched to your plans, the inspection checklist, and the UA trade-off summary showing your insulation R-values and window U-factors meet the residential energy code.
Serving Falmouth and Barnstable County
Falmouth sits in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in IECC climate zone 5A — the cold-climate zone that drives the insulation and air-sealing levels your REScheck or COMcheck must document. We prepare compliance reports for projects throughout Barnstable County, matched to the code edition Falmouth currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Falmouth
Transparent starting prices. Final cost depends on project size, number of assemblies, and scope.
- REScheck (residential): starting at $300
- COMcheck (commercial): starting at $600
- Revisions to match plan-review comments are handled promptly
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600 for projects in Falmouth. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Falmouth Project Need?
Falmouth adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code effective January 1, 2020 and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so projects in Falmouth follow the Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00). We confirm Falmouth's current code status against the state list before we prepare any report.
| Your Falmouth project | What the energy code paperwork usually is |
|---|---|
| New single-family home or low-rise residential building | In Stretch Code towns, a HERS rating (maximum HERS 42 mixed-fuel, 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is not accepted for new homes under the Stretch Code. |
| Residential addition of 1,000 sq ft or less (and not over 100% of the existing home) | REScheck (REScheck-Web, 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code) or the prescriptive tables |
| Residential addition over 1,000 sq ft or over 100% of the existing home | A HERS rating of the whole house (HERS 65 or lower mixed-fuel, 70 or lower all-electric) |
| Basement or attic conversion with no change to footprint or roofline | No HERS rating required; REScheck or prescriptive documentation |
| Residential renovation or alteration | Prescriptive alteration rules; REScheck can document the envelope. Large "extensive" alterations over 1,000 sq ft may need a HERS rating. |
| New commercial building up to 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck: Envelope, Lighting and Mechanical certificates plus the Plan Review Inspection Checklist |
| New commercial building over 20,000 sq ft | COMcheck Lighting and Mechanical, with the envelope shown by backstop and thermal-bridge calculations, on a performance path (Targeted Performance/TEDI or ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G) or Passive House |
| Commercial addition, alteration, or lighting/HVAC change | COMcheck for the altered systems |
| Multifamily building over 12,000 sq ft | Passive House or a HERS/performance path |
Based on 225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00 (Massachusetts energy code, 2025 edition). Building departments make the final call, so we confirm the path for your project before we start. Falmouth is in Barnstable County, served from our Framingham (68 South St) office.
How We Prepare Your Falmouth REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Falmouth project. We tell you the same day whether you need a REScheck, a COMcheck or a HERS rating.
We model the building
We enter every assembly, window, light fixture and HVAC unit as designed and flag anything that fails before the plan reviewer sees it.
Permit-ready report
You get the signed compliance certificates and checklists, ready to upload with your Falmouth building permit application.
Plan review support
If the building department asks for changes, we revise the report and answer the reviewer's questions.
REScheck & COMcheck for Falmouth Permits
Falmouth adopted the Massachusetts Stretch Code effective January 1, 2020, according to the state's municipal adoption list, and it has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. For a Falmouth project, the energy document you need depends on the size and type of work.
Three common Falmouth scenarios
Adding a room or finishing space. REScheck is for small residential additions and alterations where the prescriptive path is allowed. An addition up to 1,000 sq ft that is not more than 100% of the existing home is the typical example.
Building new or renovating at scale. Under the Stretch Code, a new home needs a HERS rating instead of a REScheck, with a maximum of HERS 42 for mixed-fuel or HERS 45 for all-electric. Larger renovations that trigger a rating need HERS 65 mixed-fuel or HERS 70 all-electric.
Commercial space. COMcheck covers the commercial envelope, lighting and mechanical systems. In Stretch towns like Falmouth, a commercial building over 20,000 sq ft needs more than a COMcheck, so tell us the floor area early.
Falmouth building permits are filed online through PermitEyes, and the Building Department is part of Inspectional Services at 59 Town Hall Square. We deliver REScheck and COMcheck reports as PDFs you can attach to the PermitEyes application.
Our Framingham office at 68 South St is the nearest HEEC location to Falmouth. Send your plans and we will tell you which report the project needs before you file. If you are unsure whether a renovation crosses the HERS trigger, include the existing and proposed floor areas and we will check them against the Stretch Code first.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Falmouth Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Falmouth?
Under the Massachusetts Stretch Code, new homes need a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric) or Passive House. REScheck is used for additions of 1,000 sq ft or less that are not over 100% of the existing home, basement and attic conversions, and renovations. We confirm Falmouth's code status before we start.
When is a COMcheck required in Massachusetts?
A COMcheck documents commercial energy code compliance for new commercial buildings up to 20,000 sq ft (envelope, lighting and mechanical), for lighting and mechanical on larger buildings, and for commercial additions and alterations such as fit-outs, lighting changes and HVAC replacements. Massachusetts commercial code is based on the 2021 IECC with state amendments in 225 CMR 23.00.
What does a COMcheck include?
The COMcheck Envelope Compliance Certificate, the Interior and Exterior Lighting Compliance Certificates, the Mechanical Compliance Certificate, and the Plan Review Inspection Checklist. Massachusetts 225 CMR 23.00 Section C103.2 lists these as the construction-document requirements for buildings up to 20,000 sq ft.
What does a REScheck include?
A REScheck compares your home's envelope (insulation R-values and window U-values) to the code using a total UA trade-off, so stronger performance in one assembly can offset another. The report includes the compliance certificate and inspection checklist. Mandatory items such as air sealing and duct sealing still apply.
What size addition needs a HERS rating instead of REScheck?
In Massachusetts, a residential addition over 1,000 sq ft, or over 100% of the existing conditioned floor area, needs a HERS rating of the whole house (225 CMR 22.00 R502.1.1). Converting an existing basement or attic without changing the footprint or roofline does not.
What information do you need to prepare a REScheck or COMcheck?
Plans with wall, roof and floor sections, insulation types and R-values, the window and door schedule with U-factors and SHGC, and for commercial work the lighting fixture schedule with wattages, lighting controls, and HVAC and water heating equipment schedules.
Which software version is used in Massachusetts?
REScheck-Web with the 2023 Massachusetts Stretch Code option for residential, and COMcheck-Web set to the 2021 IECC (or ASHRAE 90.1-2019) for commercial, matching the code Massachusetts enforces.
How much does a REScheck or COMcheck cost in Falmouth?
REScheck reports start at $300 and COMcheck reports start at $600. The final price depends on the size of the project and how many assemblies and systems need to be entered. Send your plans for an exact quote.
Which energy code applies to a new home in Falmouth?
Falmouth has been on the Massachusetts Stretch Code since January 1, 2020. A new home there needs a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric) or Passive House certification rather than a REScheck.
Can I upload a REScheck to Falmouth's online permitting?
Yes. Falmouth takes building permit applications online through PermitEyes. We send the REScheck or COMcheck as a PDF that you attach to the application along with your plans.
Related: HERS rating in Falmouth · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Falmouth?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Falmouth permit.
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HERS Ratings Across Falmouth and Nearby Communities
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants rates new homes, additions, and major renovations throughout Falmouth — from Falmouth Village, Woods Hole, and East Falmouth to North Falmouth and Waquoit. Every Falmouth project is filed with the Town of Falmouth Building Department, and we handle the energy model, blower door and duct leakage testing, and the compliance paperwork from start to finish.
We also serve the communities right around Falmouth, including Mashpee, Bourne, Sandwich, and Barnstable. Our Framingham office at 68 South St is the closest of our four Massachusetts locations — see our Framingham office or call (617) 501-6788 to get a Falmouth rating on the schedule.
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