In this paper, a hierarchical control structure based on model predictive control (MPC) is proposed for managing energy in residential houses. The control objective is to minimize the building energy cost while fulfilling various constraints. The optimization problem takes into account the fluctuations of the energy tariff and the available power that can be supplied by the grid market. The structure is composed of two anticipative layers: a scheduling MPC (S-MPC) with a long time horizon, and a piloting MPC (P-MPC) dealing with short time horizon. This two-level MPC structure is explained in details and compared to a centralized control approach. The methodology is assessed on a case study, developed in SIMBAD, a MATLAB toolbox dedicated to building modeling and simulation. This representative case study is used to compare this hierarchical approach with a classical control structure.