The purpose of this study was to quantify the impact of the ventilation rate on heating and cooling energy consumption in a detached house. For it, a series of simulations for the application of the diverse ventilation rate (ACH) were computationally conducted for a prototypical detached residential building in the cold climate (Detroit, Michigan) and hot/humid climate (Miami, Florida) of USA. Analysis revealed that ventilation is a significant heat losing source in the cold climate; thus, the higher ventilation rate significantly increases the heating energy consumption and energy cost in the cold climate; while the impact on energy increase for heating and cooling energy consumption is similar in hot/humid climate with less significancy compared to cold climate. The research outcome of this study could be a fundamental data for determining the optimal ventilation rate in terms of indoor air quality, but also building energy performance well.