Artificial neural networks (ANNs) can be used to predict energy consumption more reliably than traditional simulation models and regression techniques. Artificial neural networks are nowadays accepted as an alternative technology offering a way to tackle complex and ill-defined problems. They are not programmed in the traditional way but they are trained using past history data representing the behaviour of a system. They have been used in a number of diverse applications. Results presented in this paper are testimony to the potential of artificial neural networks as a design tool in many areas of building services engineering. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.