Building energy consumption in Saudi Arabia accounts for 60% of total electrical energy production, largely due to cooling demands. In this regard, energy simulations are vital to optimize building envelopes, curbing consumption significantly. This approach not only reduces energy bills but also enhances sustainability efforts, aligning with the nation’s commitment to efficiency and conservation. This research focuses on assessing the energy dynamics of a residential villa situated within the campus of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. By collecting real-world energy consumption data from 2022 and corresponding weather data from an on-campus station, this study aims to assess the accuracy of the building energy simulations for future building envelope mitigation methods. Utilizing Revit, a building model is constructed for a standard three-bedroom villa in KAUST, and an energy simulation is executed using EnergyPlus. The simulation data and collected data are compared to understand the validity of the energy simulation before proceeding to optimize the building envelope. Gaussian distribution is applied to the collected data to determine if the model is within the 95% confidence interval representing real user energy cooling habits. The simulated results from the model are found to agree well with the collected data. Validated building energy models can be used in future building energy simulations to provide high-confidence optimized building envelopes that are resilient in hot-arid climates.