Research has shown the large effect that occupants have on buildings' performance. Uncertainties related to the actual energy consumption of buildings increase the risks for the investments in low carbon technologies. Monitoring building occupancy can potentially decrease these uncertainties by providing more information about the occupants and their behaviour. The objective of the investigation is to establish an approach to inform the design process (e.g. building simulation) by addressing the complexity of occupants behaviour. The approach integrates information on occupants' behaviour and attitudes regarding energy use and indoor conditions to determine the requirements for building simulation and energy calculations. This paper presents the results of two monitoring campaigns in which the approach was employed. The monitoring campaigns focused on two owner-inhabited apartments in Spain and three social rental dwellings in The Netherlands. The results have given first insights of the power of the methodology to obtain detailed and understandable data on the occupancy patterns. This investigation highlighted the importance socio-economical status and attitudes towards energy conservation on occupants' behaviour in residential buildings. The methods described in this paper can be readily used to develop occupancy and heating profiles for monitored households to be used in building simulation programs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.