Arrays of tunnel junctions provide simple thermometric parameters in the limit where thermal excitations dominate over charging effects. We present numerical simulations for calculating the current versus voltage characteristics of an arbitrary one‐dimensional array at arbitrary temperatures on the premise of the ‘‘orthodox theory.’’ The purpose of the computer simulations is to investigate the suitability of tunnel junction arrays for thermometry at low temperatures when the analytical formulas do not hold and, specifically, to see the effect of background charges in this regime. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.