This paper describes the continuous time modelling of the heat dynamics of a building. The considered building is a residential like test house divided into two test rooms with a water based central heating. Each test room is divided into thermal zones in order to describe both short and long term variations. Besides modelling the heat transfer between thermal zones, attention is put on modelling the heat input from radiators and solar radiation. The applied modelling procedure is based on collected building performance data and statistical methods. The statistical methods are used in parameter estimation and model validation, while physical knowledge is used in forming the model structure. The suggested lumped parameter model is thus based on thermodynamics and formulated as a system of stochastic differential equations. Due to the continuous time formulation the parameters of the model are directly physical interpretable. Finally, the prediction and simulation performance of the model is illustrated. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.