REScheck & COMcheck Avon MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Avon
- Avon 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 Avon is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Avon
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Avon 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 Avon permit application.
Mass Save rebates for Avon (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 Avon MA
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants prepares REScheck (residential) and COMcheck (commercial) compliance documentation for Avon projects. When your build does not trigger a full HERS rating, these DOE compliance reports are the fast, affordable path to your permit.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Avon building permit application.
REScheck vs. COMcheck: What’s the Difference?
Both are free compliance software tools developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate that a building meets the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). They document your envelope, and for commercial work your lighting and mechanical systems, so a plan reviewer in Avon can confirm compliance quickly.
What is a REScheck?
REScheck is the DOE’s residential compliance tool. It covers one- and two-family dwellings and low-rise multifamily (three stories or fewer), using a UA trade-off so a stronger wall or roof can make up for a weaker window while the overall envelope still meets the IECC.
What is a COMcheck?
COMcheck is DOE software for commercial buildings and high-rise residential (four stories or more). It checks the building envelope, interior and exterior lighting, and mechanical systems against the IECC or ASHRAE Standard 90.1, and can trade off components across the design.
Is a REScheck Right for Your Avon Project?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Avon that do not need a HERS rating. It is typically the right tool for:
- New residential construction or an addition of 1,000 sq ft or less that does not require a HERS rating
- Window and insulation upgrades that must be documented for a building permit
- Permit applications needing residential envelope documentation on the prescriptive or UA trade-off path
- Finished basements, attic conversions, and dormer additions on existing homes
- Projects where insulation and window trade-offs are enough to demonstrate compliance
When Do You Need a COMcheck in Avon?
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Avon. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
What We Deliver for Avon Projects
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 Avon.
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.
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.
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 Avon and Norfolk County
Avon sits in Norfolk 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 Norfolk County, matched to the code edition Avon currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Avon
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 Avon. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Avon Project Need?
Avon is on the Massachusetts base energy code. It has not adopted the Stretch Code (used by 242 communities) or the Specialized (Opt-In) Code (used by 60), so projects follow the base code in 225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00. We confirm Avon's current code status against the state list before we prepare any report.
| Your Avon 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. Avon is in Norfolk County, served from our Framingham (68 South St) office.
How We Prepare Your Avon REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Avon 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 Avon 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 Avon Permits
Avon is on the Massachusetts base energy code. The state's adoption list shows that Avon has not adopted the Stretch Code or the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, which puts it in a small group of communities. Most of the towns around it are on one of the stricter codes, so the rules that apply in Avon are not always the rules a builder is used to.
Building permits go to the Avon Building Department at 65 East Main Street. All building applications are filed online through PermitEyes, and the department's page states that paper applications are no longer accepted. Your energy report is uploaded as part of that online application.
What this means for an Avon project
- Additions and alterations: REScheck is the standard document for a small residential addition or alteration where the prescriptive path is allowed, such as an addition up to 1,000 sq ft that is not more than 100% of the existing home.
- New homes and larger renovations: in Stretch and Specialized towns these need a HERS rating (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric for new homes, HERS 65 or 70 for renovations). Those mandatory targets do not apply in Avon, so a new home can often be documented on the prescriptive path, with a HERS rating still available as an option.
- Commercial buildings: COMcheck covers the envelope, lighting and mechanical systems. The added requirements that Stretch and Specialized towns place on commercial buildings over 20,000 sq ft do not apply here.
If Avon votes to adopt the Stretch Code later, the rules for new homes would change, so we check the state list before every report. Our Somerville office at 519 Broadway handles projects in Avon.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Avon Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Avon?
Avon is on the Massachusetts base energy code, not the Stretch Code, so the Stretch Code's HERS targets for new homes (HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric) do not apply. 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 Avon'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 Stretch Code and Specialized Code communities, 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. Avon is on the base energy code, so we confirm which path applies to your addition before we start.
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 Avon?
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.
Is Avon on the Stretch Code?
No. The Massachusetts adoption list shows Avon on the base energy code. It has not adopted the Stretch Code or the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so the Stretch Code's mandatory HERS targets for new homes do not apply in Avon.
Can I submit a paper building permit in Avon?
No. The Avon Building Department at 65 East Main Street requires all building applications to be filed online through PermitEyes, and paper applications are no longer accepted. We deliver REScheck and COMcheck reports as PDFs you can upload.
Related: HERS rating in Avon · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Avon?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Avon permit.
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HERS Ratings in Avon, Massachusetts
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants provides Avon with certified HERS ratings, blower door and duct leakage testing, and Massachusetts energy-code compliance for new construction, additions, and major renovations — with same-day preliminary reports.
We rate homes across the Commonwealth from our four offices. Reach the one nearest your Avon project — Somerville, Framingham, Marlborough, or Everett — or call (617) 501-6788 to schedule a Avon rating.
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