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REScheck · Iowa 2012 IECC

REScheck reports for Iowa building permits

A signed REScheck compliance certificate prepared from your plans — ready to submit with your permit application, anywhere in Iowa.

Get a REScheck → What’s in the report

$550 — REScheck + blower door test · duct testing extra if needed

15+ yrs
Home energy & building performance work in Iowa
BPI
Certified professional & trainer since 2009
Independent
Third-party — we don’t build or sell the work we verify
Eastern Iowa
Based in Cedar Rapids, serving the surrounding region
Plan review · envelope compliance

What a REScheck report is — and why your permit needs one

Iowa enforces the 2012 IECC, with state amendments, as its statewide residential energy standard. When you apply for a building permit, most Iowa building departments want documentation that the home’s envelope — the insulation, windows, and doors on your plans — meets that code. REScheck is the free U.S. Department of Energy software that building officials across Iowa accept as that proof. It takes the R-values, U-factors, and assembly areas from your plans, checks the whole envelope against the code for your climate zone, and produces a compliance certificate for plan review.

Code checked againstIowa’s statewide residential energy standard, applied through the REScheck code selection.
2012 IECC + IA
Climate zoneEvery Iowa county falls in climate zone 5 or 6 — the zone sets the insulation and window targets your envelope is checked against.
CZ 5 · CZ 6
Compliance methodThe UA trade-off path: stronger ceiling insulation or better windows can offset an assembly that misses its prescriptive target, as long as the whole envelope passes.
UA trade-off
What it producesA compliance certificate and inspection checklist, signed, formatted for submission with your permit application.
Signed certificate
What it doesn’t coverAir leakage (4 ACH50) and duct leakage are verified by field testing after construction — separate from REScheck.
Field tests

Plans that miss prescriptive can still pass. This is the real value of REScheck: if one assembly falls short of the code table — say, a bonus room ceiling or a walkout basement wall — the UA trade-off can make it up elsewhere instead of forcing a redesign. We model the options and tell you what works.

The service

From your plans to a permit-ready certificate

You don’t need to learn the software or decode the code tables. Send us the plans; we do the modeling and hand back a package your building department can approve.

You send

Your plans & specs

Floor plans and elevations, insulation R-values by assembly, and the window and door schedule with U-factors. PDF plan sets are fine — if something’s missing, we’ll tell you exactly what we need.

We build

The REScheck model

We take off the envelope areas from your plans, enter every assembly into REScheck against the 2012 IECC for your climate zone, and run the UA trade-off. If the design misses, we model options until it passes — and tell you the cheapest fix.

You get

A signed compliance package

The REScheck compliance certificate and inspection checklist, signed and ready to submit with your permit application. When you’re ready for the field tests, we do those too →

Paper + field · the full picture

REScheck is half of code compliance

REScheck proves the design meets code on paper at plan review. The 2012 IECC also requires the finished house to prove itself in the field: a blower door test at or below 4 ACH50, and a duct leakage test where ducts run outside conditioned space.

Because we do both, the numbers line up. The insulation and window values in your REScheck match what the field report documents at final — one tester, one consistent set of paperwork, no surprises at inspection.

Need the tests too? See our Iowa energy code compliance testing and blower door testing pages.

How it works

Three steps to a permit-ready REScheck

Send your plans

Call or text 319-244-8564, or send your plan set through the contact page — along with the jurisdiction you’re permitting in and your deadline.

We model the envelope

We take off areas, enter assemblies, and run the compliance check against the 2012 IECC with Iowa amendments. If the design doesn’t pass as drawn, we come back with the trade-off options before finalizing anything.

Submit with your permit

You receive the signed REScheck compliance certificate and inspection checklist, formatted for your building department. Keep a copy on site — the inspector will check the installed insulation against it.

Common questions

REScheck for Iowa permits — FAQ

Do I need a REScheck report to get a building permit in Iowa?
Most Iowa building departments require documentation that a new home’s envelope meets the 2012 IECC before issuing a permit, and REScheck is the standard tool they accept. Requirements vary by jurisdiction — some accept prescriptive code-table compliance instead — so check with your building official, or tell us where you’re building and we’ll work to their format.
How much does a REScheck cost?
$550 — and that covers both the signed REScheck compliance certificate for your permit application and the blower door test the code requires once the envelope is complete. Duct leakage testing is extra if needed — typically when ducts run outside conditioned space.
What do you need from me to prepare one?
A plan set (PDF is fine) with floor plans and elevations, the insulation R-values for each assembly, and a window and door schedule with U-factors. If the plans don’t specify something, we’ll ask rather than guess — the certificate is only as good as the numbers behind it.
What if my plans don’t pass?
That’s where the UA trade-off earns its keep. We model alternatives — a bump in ceiling insulation, a better window package, more foundation insulation — and tell you which change gets the envelope to pass at the lowest cost. You choose; we finalize the certificate to match.
Can a REScheck be done after construction has started?
Yes. REScheck can be prepared before or after construction begins — it documents the envelope as designed or as built. But doing it at plan stage is strongly preferable: once the walls are framed and the windows ordered, your trade-off options narrow fast.
Does REScheck cover the blower door test?
REScheck itself documents insulation, window, and door compliance on paper — the air leakage limit (4 ACH50) and duct leakage limits are verified with field tests after the envelope is complete. But our $550 package covers both: the REScheck certificate and the blower door test. Duct testing is extra if needed — see Iowa energy code compliance testing.
Do you only serve Eastern Iowa?
For field testing, yes — we work on site across Eastern Iowa from our Cedar Rapids base. But a REScheck is prepared from your plans, so we can produce permit documentation for any jurisdiction in Iowa, wherever you’re building.
How fast can I have it?
Usually quickly — a straightforward single-family plan set doesn’t take long once we have complete specs. Tell us your permit deadline when you send the plans and we’ll work to it.

Need a REScheck for your permit application?

Send your plans and your deadline — we’ll return a signed compliance certificate ready for your building department, anywhere in Iowa. $550 including the blower door test at final — duct testing extra if needed.

Call or text us → Get started online
319-244-8564

This page summarizes how REScheck is used for residential permit applications under Iowa’s energy code and is provided for general information — it is not a substitute for the code text or the determination of your local building official. Iowa’s residential energy standard is the 2012 IECC with state amendments, codified in the state building code at 481—Chapter 301 (Part 3). Jurisdictions may have their own submission requirements and, where permitted, more stringent codes — confirm what your authority requires before submitting.

A REScheck report for an Iowa building permit documents that a new home’s envelope — insulation, windows, and doors — complies with Iowa’s 2012 IECC energy code. Home Star Iowa prepares signed REScheck compliance certificates from your plan set, ready to submit with your permit application, and provides the blower door and duct leakage testing the code requires once the home is built.

Who uses a REScheck report in Iowa

Builders submitting permit applications for new one- and two-family homes are the most common users, but REScheck also comes up for additions, homeowner-built projects, and plan sets where one assembly can’t hit its prescriptive R-value and needs the UA trade-off to comply. REScheck is developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and is available on the DOE energy codes website; Iowa’s energy provisions are in the state building code at 481—Chapter 301.