Many commercial buildings need heat in one part and, at the same time, cooling in another part. Even more common is the need for heating during one part of the day and cooling during another in the same spaces. If that energy could be shifted or stored for later use, significant energy might be saved. If a building's heating and cooling subsystems could be integrated with the building's structural mass and used to collect, store, and deliver energy, the energy might be save cost-effectively. To explore this opportunity, researchers at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) examined the thermal interactions between the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system and the structure of a commercial building. Computer models were developed to simulate the interactions in an existing building located in Seattle, Washington, to determine how these building subsystems could be integrated to improve energy efficiency. The HVAC subsystems in the existing building were modeled. These subsystems consist of decentralized water-source heat pumps (WSHP) in a closed water loop, connected to cooling towers for heat rejection during cooling mode and boilers to augment heating. An initial base case'' computer model of the Seattle building, as-built, was developed. Metered data available for the building were used to calibrate this model to ensure that the analysis would provide information that closely reflected the operation of a real building. The HVAC system and building structure were integrated in the model using the concrete floor slabs as thermal storage media. The slabs may be actively charged during off-peak periods with the chilled water in the loop and then either actively or passively discharged into the conditioned space during peak periods. 21 refs., 37 figs., 17 tabs.