Building envelope design is considered one of the typical energy-saving techniques. Building envelope serves as the physical separator between building's interior and exterior environment so as to maintain indoor thermal comfort. To achieve building sustainability, this research aims to develop an estimation model for the heating and cooling demand of a residential building with a different envelope design using the finite element method. This research was conducted in three steps: (i) selection of building envelope design elements affecting the heating and cooling demand of a multi-family housing unit; (ii) establishment of a standard database for the heating and cooling demand by building envelope design through energy simulation; and (iii) implementation of the finite element method for estimating the heating and cooling demand by building envelope design. The proposed model was validated compared to the simulation results and the actual data. Regarding the comparison with the simulation results, the average error rate for the heating and cooling demand was determined to be 1.09% and 6.61%, respectively. Also, regarding the comparison with the actual data, the average error rate for the heating and cooling consumption was determined to be 4.95% and 5.77%, respectively. The proposed model could allow an architect or a construction manager to easily and accurately estimate the heating and cooling demand of a residential building with a different envelope design in the early design phase. It could also be useful for contractors in a competitive bidding process to analyze the alternatives. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.