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WE Data Europe Study Confirms Smart Water Metering Can Cut Household Water Use by up to 25%

30.09.2025

Brussels, 30 September – WE Data Europe today publishes a landmark pan-European study confirming that water metering and sub-metering can reduce household water consumption by up to 25%, directly supporting the EU’s Water Resilience Strategy target of a 10% improvement in water efficiency by 2030.

About the Study

Commissioned by WE Data Europe and conducted by VITO, the study analysed water consumption data from six EU Member States, complemented by expert interviews and a wide literature review. It is the first analysis of its kind at European scale, providing robust evidence on the impact of smart water metering.

Key Findings

  • Metering works: Installing individual water meters where none previously exist typically cuts water use by up to 25%.
  • Digital meters deliver more: Switching from analogue to digital meters saves an additional 5–8%, while enabling leak detection and real-time feedback.
    • Leak detection is powerful: Buildings with such systems consumed 7–14% less water.
    • Behavioural change matters: Real-time information helps households prevent waste and use water more mindfully.

Country Highlights

  • Belgium: Leak detection cut water consumption by 13.6%.
  • France: Leak detection reduced use by 7.5%.
  • Germany: Consumption-based billing lowered consumption by 5.1%.
  • Denmark: Digital meters cut long-term water use by 5.2%.
  • Spain: Digital meters reduced consumption by 12.3%.
  • The Netherlands: Digital meters brought sustained reductions of 6.2% over several years.

Policy Context

The European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy (2025) calls on Member States to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030, explicitly pointing to smart metering and digitalisation as key tools to empower citizens and businesses.
In 2026, the Commission will present an EU-wide Action Plan on Digitalisation in the Water Sector, including a Smart Water Metering for All initiative. The findings of this study demonstrate the scale of potential savings and provide timely evidence for why such EU-wide measures are needed. 

 

The full study is available for download here.

Techem

Techem is a leading service provider for smart and sustainable buildings. The company’s services cover energy management and resource conservation, residential health and process efficiency in real estate. Founded in 1952, the company is now active in 18 countries with a strong focus on the EU, where we are present in 15 member states. Techem has over 4.000 employees and services more than 13 million dwellings. Techem offers efficiency improvements along the entire value chain of heat and water in real estate. As the market leader in remote radio detection of energy consumption in homes, Techem continues to drive networking and digital processes in real estate. Modern radio smoke detectors and modern multi sensor devices with remote inspection and services related to improving drinking water quality in properties complement the solution portfolio for the housing industry.

Techem.com
Ocea
Ocea Smart Building is a leading French company specializing in sub-metering for collective housing. With 550 employees and 29 agencies across the country, the company offers solutions for sub-metering on cold water, hot water, and heating for condominiums and social landlords. Ocea provides remote reading solutions along with data analysis and processing platforms. Additionally, Ocea offers complementary IoT solutions and financed solutions for replacing gas or fuel collective boilers with heat pump systems, particularly geothermal ones.
Groupe-ocea.fr
Ista

We give buildings a future. We make this happen with products and services that help to reduce the CO2 emissions of buildings. We manage data and processes that make properties more climate-friendly, safer and more comfortable. The base for our products and services is digital. We ensure that we make it easy for everyone to switch to our sustainable technologies. This allows everyone to make their contribution to climate protection.

We already have over 45 million wireless devices in operation around the globe and develop solutions for energy-efficient and futureproof buildings. We employ over 6,300 people across 20 countries and our products and services are used in over 14 million homes and commercial properties worldwide – by more than 460,000 customers. In 2024, the entire Ista Group recorded sales of EUR 1,220 million euros.

Ista.com
Kalorimeta

KALO (Kalorimeta GmbH) is the partner for the smart energy transition in residential properties. As a Hamburg-based pioneer in the digitalization of building infrastructure with over 60 years of experience, we provide end-to-end solutions for the housing industry to make energy consumption transparent and energy and CO₂ reduction actionable.

Our broad service portfolio is ranging from submetering and smart metering to digital services that provide building owners and managers with the necessary data to comply with legal requirements, optimize energy efficiency, and significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. Our product portfolio is complemented with smoke detector services as well as smart heating solutions and intelligent central heating control systems. With our modern gateway infrastructure, we not only connect our metering devices but also integrate IoT applications for energy transition in buildings like smart heating, e-mobility and solar panel infrastructure.

Kalo.de
Brunata Metrona

As a partner to the property industry, the BRUNATA-METRONA Group enables efficient and responsible use of the environment and resources. Transparent consumption and energy data form the basis for intelligent and future-oriented energy management to maintain the value of buildings. We help to operate properties in a resource-efficient and future-proof manner, use energy efficiently, reduce CO2 emissions in buildings and cut energy costs. In doing so, we play a leading role in our industry by providing the highest quality and customised products for our customers. Our innovative solutions, services and expertise have made us a trusted partner to the building industry for more than 70 years.

Brunata-metrona.de
Brunata Denmark

Brunata – Smart Energy – Solutions for a Greener Future

Brunata is dedicated to transforming our buildings, homes, and cities into smarter environments.

Wherever people reside, we diligently measure heat consumption, monitor water usage, manage energy, oversee the indoor climate, protect properties and much more. We are committed to delivering intelligent solutions for at sustainable future, leveraging over a century of expertise in the metering industry.

With a history spanning over 100 years, our roots are firmly Danish. Today, Brunata is part of the German-owned Brunata-Minol-ZENNER Group, which employs over 4,200 individuals worldwide.

Our headquarter is situated in Herlev, Denmark, where we collaborate closely with our subsidiaries and partners across most of Europe.

Brunata has transformed into a service provider, offering meters with services that simplify our customers’ daily operation – e.g., our digital platform Brunata Online – the online uses interface for administrators, residential buildings, utilities, sub-users and residents.

Brunata.com