It is important to know how to design a building to meet seasonally varying energy needs. In high latitude countries in winter the demand for space heating is high and a building envelope should receive maximum incident solar energy. On the other hand, in summer, walls and roofs exposed to incident solar radiation usually require shading to avoid too much solar gain. Data on solar energy availability are crucial for good building design. However, it is important how the availability of solar radiation is determined. An important aim of the paper presented is to give some results of a comparative analysis of two basic sky models, isotropic: Hottel-Woertz-Liu-Jordan and anisotropic: the HDKR, Hay-Davies-Klucher-Reindl, to recommend one of these models for determination of solar energy availability on a building envelope and to formulate the energy balance of a building. Differences between results obtained from both models increase with the slope of exposed surfaces. The biggest differences (12-15%) are evident for vertical south surfaces, especially in summer. The simplified isotropic sky model is not recommended for evaluation of solar radiation availability on the building envelope. Underestimation of solar gains can lead to the selection of an unsuitable concept and construction of a building and result in poor indoor thermal comfort, i.e. overheating of rooms in summer. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.