HVAC&R systems are the most energy consuming building services representing approximately half of the final energy use in the building sector. Despite their significant energy use, there is a lack of a consistent and homogeneous framework to efficiently guide research, mainly due to the complexity and variety of HVAC&R systems but also to insufficient rigour in their energy analysis. This research reviews energy consumption of HVAC&R systems with the aim of establishing a common idea for the analysis of energy efficiency. The paper focuses on energy flow of the HVAC&R which include air-conditioning, transport and heat generation system for low-energy buildings.