In order to improve the modeling of air conditioners in building simulation tools, the characteristic curves for total cooling capacity, sensible cooling capacity and energy efficiency ratio of two room units were determined. They were obtained by means of standard capacity tests on climatic chambers in a set of environmental conditions described by external dry- and internal wet bulb temperatures. Afterward, the performance of these two units and that of four other units, with and without taking into to account the thermodynamic variations of the surrounding environments on it, were compared using a whole building simulation program for simulating a conditioned space. The comparative analysis showed that the air conditioner with the higher energy efficiency rating not always provides the lowest power consumption in real conditions of use. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.