REScheck & COMcheck Brookline MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Brookline
- As of July 1, 2023, Brookline enforces the Massachusetts Specialized (Opt-In) Energy Code on top of the Stretch Code baseline - IECC Climate Zone 5A.
- The Opt-In code goes further than the Stretch baseline: new fossil-fuel homes must be pre-wired for electrification and include on-site solar where roof space allows.
- New all-electric homes rely on heat pumps for heat and hot water; large fossil-fuel homes over 4,000 sq ft must hit net-zero (HERS 0), and multifamily over 12,000 sq ft must be Passive House.
- Brookline also participates in the Massachusetts Municipal Fossil Fuel-Free Building Demonstration Program - new construction and major renovations must be built fossil-fuel-free (all-electric), a step beyond the Specialized Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Brookline
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Brookline 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 Brookline permit application.
Mass Save rebates for Brookline (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 Brookline MA
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Brookline? We produce permit-ready energy code compliance reports for homes and commercial buildings across Norfolk County, matched precisely to your plans so your project clears plan review the first time.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Brookline building permit application.
What Is a REScheck and What Is a COMcheck?
These are the two standard software tools plan reviewers accept for energy code compliance. Developed by the DOE, they let a Norfolk County project demonstrate that its envelope (and, for commercial, lighting and mechanical) meets the IECC.
What is a REScheck?
For homes, REScheck is the go-to. This DOE program checks residential envelopes — detached houses and multifamily up to three stories — and allows insulation and fenestration trade-offs to show prescriptive or component-based IECC compliance.
What is a COMcheck?
COMcheck handles commercial work and high-rise residential of four stories or more. The DOE tool evaluates envelope, lighting (interior and exterior), and mechanical systems against either the IECC or ASHRAE 90.1, with trade-offs allowed across components.
When Do You Need a REScheck in Brookline?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Brookline 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 Brookline'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 Brookline?
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Brookline. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- Warehouse, industrial, and light-manufacturing conditioned spaces
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Restaurant build-outs and retail white-box improvements
- Envelope work on commercial structures requiring IECC or ASHRAE 90.1 compliance
Inside Your REScheck or COMcheck Report
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.
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.
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.
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 Brookline.
Serving Brookline and Norfolk County
Brookline 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 Brookline currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Brookline
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 Brookline. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Brookline Project Need?
Brookline has adopted the Massachusetts Specialized Code (the municipal opt-in code, 225 CMR 22.00 Appendix RC for homes and 225 CMR 23.00 Appendix CC for commercial and multifamily). New homes must be built to the net-zero-ready Specialized paths, new homes over 4,000 sq ft must use the all-electric or zero-energy path, and new multifamily buildings over 12,000 sq ft must be Passive House certified.
| Your Brookline project | What the energy code paperwork usually is |
|---|---|
| New single-family home or low-rise residential building | A HERS rating or Passive House certification on a Specialized Code path. REScheck is not accepted for new homes. |
| 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 certification (Phius or PHI) |
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. Brookline is in Norfolk County, served from our Framingham (68 South St) office.
How We Prepare Your Brookline REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Brookline 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 Brookline 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 Brookline Permits
Brookline has been on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code since July 1, 2023, and on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2011. It also takes part in the state's fossil fuel free building demonstration program. Since February 20, 2024, new construction in Brookline cannot use the Zero Energy or Mixed-Fuel pathways, so new buildings are generally all-electric. Permits go to the Building Department at 333 Washington Street through the town's Accela online permit portal.
Which report fits a Brookline project?
REScheck is for small residential additions and alterations: an addition up to 1,000 sq ft that is not more than 100% of the existing home, where the prescriptive path is allowed. New homes need a HERS rating instead. Statewide the target is HERS 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric, and Brookline's fossil fuel free rules point new homes to the all-electric side. Larger additions and major renovations need HERS 65 mixed-fuel or 70 all-electric.
Commercial and mixed-use
COMcheck documents the envelope, lighting and mechanical systems of commercial buildings. A commercial building over 20,000 sq ft needs more than COMcheck under the Stretch and Specialized codes. Brookline has several large projects in the works. At 20 Boylston Street, a four-story mixed-use building with commercial space and 16 apartments has been proposed. On Route 9 at 1280-1330 Boylston Street, Town Meeting approved a rezoning in May 2026 for a hotel, 266 homes, medical office and retail.
HEEC's Somerville office at 519 Broadway is a short drive from Brookline. We deliver reports digitally so they are ready to upload to Accela.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Brookline Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Brookline?
For a new home in Brookline, you need a HERS rating or Passive House, because Brookline is on the Specialized Code. REScheck is used for smaller additions (1,000 sq ft or less and not over 100% of the existing home), basement and attic conversions, and renovations.
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 Brookline?
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.
Can new homes in Brookline use gas?
Generally no. Brookline is in the state's fossil fuel free building demonstration program, and since February 20, 2024, new construction cannot use the Zero Energy or Mixed-Fuel pathways of the Specialized Code. New homes still need a HERS rating, using the all-electric target of HERS 45.
How do I submit a building permit in Brookline?
Brookline building permits are filed online through the town's Accela permit portal and reviewed by the Building Department at 333 Washington Street. Include your REScheck, COMcheck or HERS documentation with the application.
Related: HERS rating in Brookline · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Brookline?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Brookline permit.
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HERS Ratings Across Brookline and Nearby Communities
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants rates new homes, additions, and major renovations throughout Brookline — from Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, and Washington Square to Chestnut Hill and Longwood. Every Brookline project is filed with the Town of Brookline 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 Brookline, including Boston, Newton, Cambridge, and Brighton. Our Somerville office at 519 Broadway is the closest of our four Massachusetts locations — see our Somerville office or call (617) 501-6788 to get a Brookline rating on the schedule.
Brookline Specialized Energy Code — HERS Index Targets
Brookline enforces the Massachusetts Specialized (Opt-In) Energy Code. The required HERS score depends on fuel type and project scope — a lower index is stricter. As a fossil-fuel-free community, new construction in Brookline must be built all-electric, so the all-electric columns apply.
| Project type | Mixed-fuel | Mixed-fuel + solar | All-electric | All-electric + solar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New construction | HERS 42 | 42 | 45 | 45 |
| New construction — embodied-carbon credit | 45 | 45 | 48 | 48 |
| Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) | 52 | 55 | 55 | 58 |
| Major alteration / renovation / change of use | 65 | 70 | 70 | 75 |
A HERS rating is triggered by new construction, additions over 1,000 sq ft (or more than 100% of the existing conditioned area), and Level 3 alterations over 1,000 sq ft affecting more than 50% of the home. New homes must also pass a blower-door test at 3.0 ACH50 and include electrification-ready wiring for heat pumps, EV charging, and solar. We model your Brookline project up front so you know the exact target and the fastest path to hit it — call (617) 501-6788.
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