REScheck & COMcheck Woburn MA - Quick Facts
Local energy code in Woburn
- Woburn 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 Woburn is on the Stretch Code.
REScheck & COMcheck in Woburn
- REScheck documents the prescriptive residential path for Woburn 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 Woburn permit application.
Mass Save rebates for Woburn (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 Woburn MA
Fast, accurate REScheck and COMcheck energy code compliance reports for residential and commercial projects in Woburn, Massachusetts. We prepare the documentation your building department needs to issue a permit — without the cost of a full performance-path energy rating when your project does not require one.
What we deliver
A signed compliance report matched to your plans and ready to upload with your Woburn 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?
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.
Is a REScheck Right for Your Woburn Project?
REScheck is the simplest path for smaller residential projects in Woburn 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
- Finished basements, attic conversions, and dormer additions on existing homes
- Projects where insulation and window trade-offs are enough to demonstrate compliance
- Additions, alterations, or renovations to a one- or two-family home
- Detached accessory structures with conditioned space
Commercial Work That Needs a COMcheck in Woburn
COMcheck is required for commercial and larger projects in Woburn. Reach for a COMcheck when your project involves:
- 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
- New mechanical (HVAC) or service water heating systems in commercial spaces
- High-rise residential buildings of four stories or more
Inside Your REScheck or COMcheck Report
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 Woburn.
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.
Serving Woburn and Middlesex County
Woburn 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 Woburn currently enforces.
Transparent Pricing for Woburn Compliance Reports
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 Woburn. Send your plans for an exact quote.
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Which Energy Code Report Does a Woburn Project Need?
Woburn is not one of the 60 Massachusetts communities on the Specialized (Opt-In) Code, so projects follow the Massachusetts Stretch Code (225 CMR 22.00 and 23.00), which 242 communities have adopted. The state's adoption list shows Woburn on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2012.
| Your Woburn 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. Woburn is in Middlesex County, served from our Somerville (519 Broadway) office.
How We Prepare Your Woburn REScheck or COMcheck
Send your plans
Email the permit set for your Woburn 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 Woburn 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 Woburn Permits
Permitting in Woburn is entirely online. Woburn Inspectional Services, at 10 Common Street, says its applications are fully digital and processed through the CitizenServe online permitting portal. That makes the energy code report one more upload, but it also means an incomplete package sits in the queue until the missing document arrives, so it pays to attach the right report the first time.
The state's adoption list shows Woburn on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2012. Woburn has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. A quick guide for Woburn projects:
- Bump-out, dormer or small addition up to 1,000 sq ft and not more than 100% of the existing home: REScheck, where the prescriptive path is allowed.
- New single-family home or duplex: a HERS rating of 42 mixed-fuel or 45 all-electric.
- Large addition or gut renovation: a whole-house HERS rating of 65 mixed-fuel or 70 all-electric.
- Office, retail, lab or warehouse fit-out: COMcheck for envelope, lighting and mechanical.
- Commercial building over 20,000 sq ft: more than COMcheck, with a performance path and thermal-bridge calculations.
Woburn's growth leans toward large rental housing. Toll Brothers Apartment Living and a Carlyle affiliate are developing Emblem 120, a 289-unit rental community, and in March 2026 Leggat McCall proposed shifting The Vale, on the former Kraft Foods site, to an all-residential plan with 504 more apartments. Projects of that size go well beyond REScheck, so the energy path should be settled early in design.
Woburn projects are handled from our Somerville office at 519 Broadway.
REScheck & COMcheck Questions for Woburn Projects
Do I need a REScheck or a HERS rating in Woburn?
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. Woburn has been on the Stretch Code since January 1, 2012.
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 Woburn?
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.
How do I submit energy code paperwork for a Woburn building permit?
Woburn Inspectional Services processes applications digitally through the CitizenServe online permitting portal. Upload your REScheck, COMcheck or HERS report as a PDF with the plans when you apply.
What energy code does Woburn enforce?
Woburn has been on the Massachusetts Stretch Code since January 1, 2012, according to the state's adoption list, and has not adopted the Specialized (Opt-In) Code. New homes need a HERS rating; small additions can usually use REScheck.
Related: HERS rating in Woburn · Blower door testing · COMcheck & REScheck reports
Need a REScheck or COMcheck in Woburn?
Send us your plans and we will tell you which report you need and get it back to you fast — ready for your Woburn permit.
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HERS Ratings Across Woburn and Nearby Communities
Home Energy Efficiency Consultants rates new homes, additions, and major renovations throughout Woburn — including North Woburn, East Woburn, West Side, and Montvale. Every Woburn project is filed with the City of Woburn 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 Woburn, including Winchester, Stoneham, Burlington, Reading, and Wilmington. 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 Woburn rating on the schedule.
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