It is necessary to determine if the tools used in the process of building performance calculation accurately reflect the real conditions, with the objective of introducing simulation in the design process of buildings. The aim of this study is the assessment of the effectiveness of the software ENVI-met v4 on the prediction of the thermodynamic performance of courtyards by means of comparing between field data obtained from simultaneous monitoring of three courtyards and the results obtained from the software simulations. The results of the study show a significant difference between monitored and simulated data for air temperature inside the courtyards. And the difference between outdoor temperature and courtyard temperature is too important not to be considered in building efficiency calculations. For that reason, ENVI-met it is not an accurate software to be used in the process of design of this kind of architectural transitional spaces that can be very important in order to design nZEB in some climates.