This research presents energy and exergy analyses of a new decentralized ventilation system to adapt to the hot and humid climate compared to general centralized ventilation systems. A zone model of an office building was applied for a heat pump cooling system in Singapore. The cooling load capacity of the zone model was simulated using the building energy simulation software "TRNSYS" and energy and exergy analyses of the new ventilation system were carried out through numerical calculations based on the measured cooling load capacity. An effective energy solution for buildings was to increase cooling and ventilation efficiency. The energy and exergy analyses evaluated the performance of the various cooling systems. The research revealed that the new decentralized ventilation system adapted to the hot and humid climate had better performance compared to a centralized all-air system and to a chilled ceiling with centralized air handling unit system. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.