Although variable-air-volume system (VAVS) can save much energy compared with other kind of HVAC system (e.g. constant-air-volume system (CAVS), fan-coil system (FCS)), it demands more investment. The rate of return of variable-air-volume system, which is closely related to the energy-saving rate of the system, ought to be taken into account by the engineers in the course of design. China has a wide territory and different climates that will impact on the energy-saving rate of variable-air-volume system. To help the engineers have a good idea of the rate of return of variable-air-volume system in different areas of China, it is necessary to establish such program that can evaluate the energy-saving rate of variable-air-volume system compared to constant-air-volume system and fan-coil system. In this paper, the specific energy models of the primary equipments in HVAC system are established, and the evaluation program for the energy-saving of variable-air-volume system compared to constant-air-volume system and fan-coil system are expounded. The parameters in the energy models, which may impact the validity of the evaluation program, can be obtained from the field-testing data or the performance data provided by the product manual. One small office building is taken as an example, the year-round energy simulations of the three kinds of HVAC systems (variable-air-volume system, constant-air-volume system and fan-coil system) of the same building have been made, and the energy-saving of the variable-air-volume system has been evaluated in six cities of China by the program. The evaluation program can also be used to analyze the energy-saving of variable-air-volume system in medium and big office buildings. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.