REScheck & COMcheck Concord MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Concord
- Concord adopted the Massachusetts Specialized (Opt-In) Energy Code effective January 1, 2024; the Stretch Code applies as the baseline. IECC Climate Zone 5A.
- Beyond the Stretch baseline, new mixed-fuel homes must be pre-wired for future electrification and add on-site solar where there is significant unshaded roof space.
- All-electric new homes must use heat pumps for space heating and hot water; fossil-fuel homes over 4,000 sq ft must reach net-zero (HERS 0), and new multifamily over 12,000 sq ft must meet Passive House.
- Concord 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 Concord
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Concord 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 Concord permit application.
2026 Mass Save incentives in Concord
- 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 Concord MA
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants prepares REScheck (residential) and COMcheck (commercial) compliance documentation for Concord 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 Concord building permit application.
REScheck vs. COMcheck: What’s the Difference?
These are the two standard software tools plan reviewers accept for energy code compliance. Developed by the DOE, they let a Middlesex County project demonstrate that its envelope (and, for commercial, lighting and mechanical) meets the IECC.
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?
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.
REScheck Projects in Concord
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Concord 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
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space
- Projects where insulation and window trade-offs are enough to demonstrate compliance
- Finished basements, attic conversions, and dormer additions on existing homes
- Multifamily buildings of three stories or fewer
When Do You Need a COMcheck in Concord?
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Concord. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
- Commercial buildings — offices, retail, restaurants, warehouses, and mixed-use
- Tenant fit-outs and interior or exterior lighting alterations
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- Medical, dental, and professional office construction
What Your Concord Compliance Report Includes
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.
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 Concord.
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.
Serving Concord and Middlesex County
Concord sits in Middlesex 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 Middlesex County, matched to the code edition Concord currently enforces.
What a REScheck or COMcheck Costs in Concord
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 Concord. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Concord Project Need?
Concord has adopted the Massachusetts Specialized (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 Concord 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 (Opt-In) 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. Concord is in Middlesex County, served from our Somerville (519 Broadway) office.
How We Prepare Your Concord REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Concord 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 Concord 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 Concord Permits
Concord adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code effective January 1, 2024, after following the Stretch Code since 2011. It is one of the 60 Massachusetts communities on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so new construction in Concord is held to stricter rules than in most towns.
What changes for a Concord project
- REScheck still works for small jobs: residential additions and alterations 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 need a HERS rating: HERS 42 or lower for mixed-fuel, 45 or lower for all-electric, or Passive House. Under the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, a mixed-fuel home also has to include on-site solar and be pre-wired for future electric equipment.
- Larger renovations: a whole-house HERS rating of 65 (mixed-fuel) or 70 (all-electric).
- Commercial: COMcheck covers envelope, lighting and mechanical. Commercial buildings over 20,000 sq ft need more than a COMcheck, such as a performance path or Passive House.
Concord's permit process
Concord's Building & Inspections office takes permit applications through the town's online permitting system on PermitEyes. Concord also has a Fossil Fuel-Free Building Demonstration Program bylaw, effective June 22, 2024, so it is worth confirming with the department whether your project falls under it before choosing gas or propane equipment. The fuel choice also sets which HERS target applies.
We review plans early, run the HERS model or REScheck, and send PDFs ready to upload to PermitEyes. Concord projects are handled from our Somerville office at 519 Broadway.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Concord Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Concord?
For a new home in Concord, you need a HERS rating or Passive House, because Concord is on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, effective January 1, 2024. 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.
Is Concord on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code?
Yes. The Massachusetts adoption list shows Concord on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code effective January 1, 2024. New homes need a HERS rating or Passive House, and mixed-fuel homes also need on-site solar and electric pre-wiring. Small additions and alterations can still be documented with REScheck.
What is Concord’s Fossil Fuel-Free Building Demonstration Program?
It is a Town of Concord bylaw that took effect on June 22, 2024, under Article 32 of the 2024 Town Meeting. Ask the Building & Inspections office whether it applies to your project before you plan gas or propane equipment. It is separate from the energy code report.
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 Concord?
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.
Related: HERS rating in Concord · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Concord?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Concord permit.
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HERS Ratings Across Concord and Nearby Communities
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants rates new homes, additions, and major renovations throughout Concord — including Concord Center, West Concord, and Nine Acre Corner. Every Concord project is filed with the Town of Concord Building Division, 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 Concord, including Acton, Lincoln, Bedford, Carlisle, and Sudbury. 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 Concord rating on the schedule.
Concord Specialized Energy Code — HERS Index Targets
Concord 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 Concord 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 Concord project up front so you know the exact target and the fastest path to hit it — call (617) 501-6788.
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