The performance of different HVAC systems varies when coupled with different buildings. This paper examines the relationship between building heating and cooling load and subsequent energy consumption with different HVAC systems. Two common HVAC systems in use throughout the UK office building stock, variable air volume (VAV) system and fan coil (FC) with dedicated outside air system, have been coupled with a typical narrow plan office building with and without daylight control and for both cellular and open plan. The results presented in this paper clearly indicate that it is not possible to form a reliable judgment about building energy performance based only on building heating and cooling loads. For the two investigated systems, variable air volume system and fan coil with dedicated outside air system, the difference between system demand and building demand varied from over -40% to almost +30% for cooling and between -20% and +15% for heating. If a heat recovery unit is used, the difference in heating performance is even greater, rising to -70%. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.