COMcheck — The Complete Guide: Energy-Code Compliance for Commercial Buildings
COMcheck is a free tool developed at the PNNL national laboratory for the US Department of Energy. It checks whether a commercial building, or a high-rise residential building, meets the US energy codes IECC and ASHRAE 90.1. You enter the envelope assemblies, lighting and mechanical systems, and get a compliance result and a tidy report for submission. The recommended version runs in the browser; an older Windows version is also available.
COMcheck
PNNL (US Department of Energy)
Energy-code compliance checks for commercial buildings — envelope, lighting and mechanical systems — under IECC and ASHRAE 90.1.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Envelope check — walls, roofs, floors, windows and doors against code requirements.
- Interior and exterior lighting — installed power against the allowed density.
- Mechanical systems — requirements for cooling, heating and hot water equipment.
- Code edition choice — several editions of IECC and ASHRAE 90.1.
- Compliance report — a document ready for authorities that adopt these codes.
A note for readers outside the US
COMcheck is built on US codes and does not replace local requirements; in Israel, for example, building energy rating follows SI 5282. It is useful for learning the IECC and ASHRAE 90.1 requirements, for US projects, or for comparing approaches. The older Windows version no longer receives new code editions, so the browser version is the better choice.
Related tools
For low-rise homes — REScheck. For full performance calculation by simulation — EnergyPlus with OpenStudio.
REScheck
PNNL (US Department of Energy)
Checks home envelopes against the IECC energy code, with a simple UA calculation and a ready report.
Get it from the vendor
EnergyPlus
US Department of Energy
Annual building energy simulation — envelope, HVAC, thermal comfort and daylight. The US DOE engine.
Get it from the vendorOpenStudio
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Graphical workflow on top of EnergyPlus — geometry, systems and scenario comparison.
Get it from the vendorCBECC
California Energy Commission
California energy-code (Title 24) compliance software for commercial and multifamily buildings, on the EnergyPlus engine.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
COMcheck is the simple, free way to check compliance with US energy codes for commercial buildings, and a good learning tool for understanding the requirements.