This paper reviews the physical background of Energy Balance Climate Models and evaluates the use of Sellers' and North's model in simulating the present climate. The sensitivity of themodels - with updated empirical constants - is tested for use in the ice-age problem. In this connection the seasonal model of North and Coakley was extended to include a more realisticcontinent-ocean distribution. A simulation of the temperature field with a full-size Northern hemisphere continental ice sheet proved to be in fair agreement with palaeoclimatic proxy data.