Techem Atlas 2025 | Focus: Hot water consumption continues to fall, costs rise by almost 8%

Eschborn, 27. November 2025. An additional evaluation of the Techem Atlas for Energy, Heat, and Water 2025 shows that hot water consumption in German apartment buildings fell again in 2024, while costs for consumers rose significantly. This is the result of a recent analysis by energy service provider Techem, which evaluated consumption data from around 100,000 buildings with approximately 1.1 million apartments. Compared to 2023, hot water consumption fell by 1.8% to an average of 217 liters per square meter of living space. Costs, on the other hand, rose by 7.8% to €4.72 per square meter.

Regional differences particularly pronounced

The analysis shows major differences between the federal states:

• Bremen recorded the sharpest decline in hot water consumption, with a drop of 10.4%. Schleswig-Holstein (−6.8%) and Rhineland-Palatinate (−6.0%) are also well below the previous year's figure.
• At the same time, costs rose massively in some regions: Brandenburg leads with an increase of 22.2%, followed by Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (+19.5%) and Thuringia (+15.3%).
• It is also striking that consumption actually rose slightly in Saxony (+2.9%) and Saxony-Anhalt (+2.0%) – despite the nationwide decline.

There are also significant differences within cities:

• Munich tops the list of highest consumption with 276.6 l/m², followed by Bochum (268.9 l/m²) and Cologne (259.5 l/m²).
• The most economical cities are Saarbrücken (178.2 l/m²), Mainz (193.1 l/m²), and Essen (194.1 l/m²).

Rising costs despite falling consumption: Digital solutions are the key to greater efficiency

A key reason for rising costs despite falling consumption is the reduced efficiency of hot water production: if less hot water is consumed, it remains in the pipe system for longer, leading to greater heat loss and thus higher costs. Digital, low-investment solutions such as Techem's Digitale Heizungskeller (digital boiler room) ensure transparency with regard to the correct system settings and reveal potential for more efficient hot water and space heating.

With the help of digital sensor technology and AI-based remote analysis, operating conditions are continuously monitored, recommendations for action are derived, and the energy efficiency of heating systems is improved through optimized settings—for every system and every energy source. This allows for an average of 15% energy savings and emissions avoidance. “The analysis makes it clear: efficiency is the key to avoiding unnecessary energy losses and therefore cost increases. Innovative solutions help to adjust hot water and heating systems optimally and control them transparently. This saves resources, reduces emissions, and supports sustainable building management,” says Matthias Hartmann, CEO of Techem.

Image information: Techem Atlas 2025 – Focus: Hot water consumption continues to fall, costs rise by almost 8% (Copyright: Techem). 

About the Techem Atlas for Energy, Heat & Water

The Techem Atlas for Energy, Heat & Water is published annually and provides a comprehensive analysis of energy consumption, emissions, and digitalization in German buildings. The data covers around 100,000 apartment buildings with approximately 1.1 million apartments in Germany and a further 1.7 million apartments across Europe. The aim is to create transparency, make progress measurable, and identify concrete options for action for the heat transition. The data considered in the Atlas and its additional evaluations are annual values from 2024. With the new Atlas formats—Atlas Focus, Atlas Forecast, and Atlas Update—Techem regularly offers compact analyses of current energy topics to supplement the annual main study.