This paper gives practical information related to the use of simplified EnergyPlus models and its impact on estimates of the cooling demand, especially when EnergyPlus models are coupled with an urban canopy model. By simplified models, it is referred to shoebox as well as multi-floor models. For the interest of climatologists, their influence on estimates of urban temperature and specific humidity is also studied. To explore divergences between the use of detailed and simplified EnergyPlus models, a typical office area in Singapore is selected as a case study. As a result, it is observed that the use of multi-floor models provides estimates of the cooling demand and urban microclimatic conditions which achieve the best agreement with these assessed from detailed models. On the other hand, less time is required to run a shoebox than a multi-floor model. Although these outcomes are inferred from an excellent case study, further research must be conducted on several types of urban areas to elaborate a general theory. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.