Being highly insulated, low-energy buildings are very sensitive to variable solar and internal gains. In this context, some modelling assumptions frequently used in simplified building energy simulation tools might be called into question. While higher insulation levels reduce the influence of heat transmission through opaque walls, absorption of solar and internal gains at inner wall surfaces, and indoor superficial heat transfers, become concerning. The convective and long-wave radiative heat transfer models are investigated in COMFIE, a dynamic energy simulation platform. More detailed internal heat transfer models are developed by decoupling convective and long-wave radiative heat transfers and using time-dependent coefficients. Furthermore, an empirical validation process on both simplified and detailed models is carried out using measurements from a full-scale experimental concrete passive house, addressing the model uncertainty vs. complexity issue.