Demand for cooling of commercial buildings is increasing and there is a potential for expanding district cooling systems, especially in district heating areas. Using district heating and district cooling has been compared to heat pump techniques. Primary energy, environmental influence and economy have been evaluated. Four buildings in Gothenburg have been included in the study and certain differences have been found depending on demands of heating and cooling, which vary according to design and activity. The results are specific for Gothenburg due to the combination of production methods for district heating and cooling and the pricing, which differ compared to other places. Different perspectives on production of electricity, district heating and district cooling, e.g. average or marginal production, is of vital importance when comparing environmental influence. In most of the case studies the demand of primary energy is lower for district heating and cooling compared to heat pump systems. With a marginal perspective district heating and cooling will lead to lower emissions of greenhouse gases. Using the perspective of average production will on the other hand rate heat pump systems to have a lower influence on the greenhouse effect in most of the cases. Which technique is the most cost efficient depends mainly upon relation of heating and cooling demands. Where there is a greater demand for cooling than for heating, district heating and cooling is more advantageous. It is a need for improved data in commercial buildings from reliable field measurements. The quality of the evaluation is very much dependent on reliable measured data from real installations.