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From 1 January 2027, every heat meter and hot water meter in an apartment building must support remote reading – without the need to enter individual flats. The deadline is fixed and applies to virtually every homeowners’ association and housing co-operative. Below, we summarise exactly what the law requires, what solutions are available, and how to prepare for the transition from a property manager’s perspective.
The pressure for change is not coming from within, but from Brussels. The revised European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED, 2018/2002/EU) is based on a simple idea: people who know their actual consumption on an ongoing basis use energy more efficiently than those who only find out once a year from their annual statement. The Czech Republic has incorporated this logic into two laws – the Energy Management Act and the Services Act – and these are the source of the specific obligations that committees and property managers must fulfil.
Author: Ondřej Slezák - Sales Representative for the IoT product range
For property managers, there are three key dates set out in two pieces of legislation. It is worth keeping them distinct, because they are often blurred into a single vague “something applies from 2027”.
⚠ The 1 January 2027 deadline is fixed. No general transitional period is expected. Any building that fails to complete the transition in time risks penalties and complications with annual billing. It is therefore sensible to start preparations (owners’ meeting resolution, supplier selection, installation) well in advance.
The law changes the definition itself, and this is a detail that may come as a surprise. Until 31 December 2026, a meter is considered remotely readable if it allows reading at a distance of more than 250 metres (whether independently or via another already installed device). From 1 January 2027, a meter is considered remotely readable if access to individual flats and non-residential premises is not required for reading it. In addition, the device must actually be configured for remote reading at least once a month – mere “capability” of remote reading is not enough.
What the obligation covers – and what it does not. Both the European and Czech legislation target space heating and hot water (heat meters, allocators, hot water meters). Cold water is not covered by this specific EED obligation. In practice, however, cold water meters are usually connected to the same remote reading system as well – the additional cost is minimal, and the property manager gets complete building data in one place.
It does not matter whether you manage one building or dozens. What matters is that the flats contain heat or hot water meters.
| Who you are | What is changing | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant in an apartment building | Every month, you receive an overview of your flat’s heat and hot water consumption. | Nothing – this is handled by the property manager or the homeowners’ association. |
| Flat owner in a homeowners’ association | The homeowners’ association must ensure remote reading is in place by the end of 2026. | Check the state of preparations with the property manager, or raise the issue at the next owners’ meeting. |
| Property manager / homeowners’ association committee / housing co-operative board | You are responsible for completing the transition on time and for informing users monthly. | Select and procure a remote reading system, plan the installation and define the reporting method. |
| Owner of a building connected to district heating | If you take heat from district heating and have heat meters installed, the rules apply to you as well. | Check with your heat supplier whether the installed meters meet the requirements. |
Technically, the obligation can be met in two ways. Both are legal, but they differ in operational logic – and in how much work is still left to people.
The meters transmit values by radio, and an employee of the meter reading company walks around the building from time to time with a portable receiver. The signal is captured as soon as they come within sufficient range – typically up to 30 metres. There is no need to enter the flats. The catch: someone must physically come every month, otherwise you will not meet the monthly reporting obligation.
The meters are connected to a central unit that collects data continuously and sends it automatically wherever needed – without regular visits from a technician. The most reliable connection is a wired M-Bus bus: a two-wire cable that both powers the meters and transmits their data. Where cabling cannot be installed, the meters can be connected wirelessly by radio (wM-Bus) – but only if the central unit supports a receiver for the given protocol. Not every unit does, so it is advisable to verify compatibility in advance.
Siemens offers a complete wireless reading solution based on radio meters and the Siemeca WalkBy mobile reading system. The meters in the flats transmit data by radio, so there is no need to run cables to them – once installed, they are ready to use immediately.
Mainly where you have several properties close together – a number of buildings in one street, a housing estate, neighbouring homeowners’ associations. The technician can cover the whole area in a single round and only needs to come within 30 metres of each building. The more densely the properties are arranged, the more efficient the reading becomes; ten buildings on one estate can be covered in a single morning. By contrast, for a single isolated building or properties scattered far apart, the solution loses its appeal – travelling to each building separately makes operation more expensive.
On the meter side, you have two options
The actual reading then works as follows: once a month, an operator walks around the building with the WTT726-FE7300 reading kit and an Android mobile phone – they come within 30 metres of the meters and the system downloads the data. No access to the flats is required.
Perseus Energy 242 is a compact central unit permanently installed directly in the building, which handles meter reading by itself – without regular visits from a technician. Meters are connected either by wire via M-Bus or wirelessly via a wM-Bus receiver if they communicate by radio.
Perseus collects data continuously and automatically sends it to the SensDesk portal or directly to an information system via open protocols – MQTT, Modbus/TCP, SNMP or XML. The property manager has an online overview of all consumption points anytime, anywhere, without having to travel anywhere or start anything manually. Each user can have their own online access to their consumption, and the system can also automatically send out monthly billing statements by email.
Above all where properties are far apart or harder to access – buildings in different parts of a town, in villages, or in remote locations. Because no technician needs to travel anywhere, the distance between properties does not matter; each building sends its data itself. It is also advantageous for a single property where a walk-by reading would not take long, but the property manager still wants continuous access to data – not just once a month after a reading visit. Continuous monitoring also immediately alerts you if consumption rises somewhere or a meter stops communicating, helping to prevent failures and damage.
Without technical jargon, it essentially comes down to three steps:
Perseus Energy 242 is the unit in the middle. It has no screen or buttons – it quietly gets on with the job. It fits onto a DIN rail in a distribution board and is about the size of a slightly larger cigarette packet.
A legal obligation is a legal obligation – but remote reading also brings tangible benefits that are worth communicating to building users:
| Benefit | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Fairer billing | You pay for actual consumption, not an estimate. Fewer unpleasant surprises from additional charges. |
| Access to your own data | Unusually high water consumption may indicate a dripping tap or a faulty valve. Without ongoing data, you would only discover it from the bill six months later. |
| No technician visits | No one rings your doorbell to take a reading. Data is sent even when you are not at home. |
| More accurate and faster billing | The property manager has up-to-date data at any time. Annual billing can be completed sooner and with less risk of errors. |
Replacing the meters is typically a cost borne by the whole building (homeowners’ association or housing co-operative), usually paid from the repair fund. In doing so, the building eliminates the risk of penalties as well as repeated costs for manual readings by technicians.
Yes. If you take heat from district heating and have heat or hot water meters in the flats, the obligation applies to you.
No. You can proceed gradually, for example by entrance section or during routine replacements. The important thing is that the entire building is upgraded before the end of 2026.
The specific obligation arising from the European directive targets heat and hot water. Cold water meters are not covered by it, but in practice they are usually connected to the same system as well – giving the property manager complete building data in one place.
The Energy Management Act allows exemptions – for example for radiant heating systems (underfloor, ceiling, wall-mounted) where there are technical obstacles to installing devices, for buildings with a manually fed solid fuel boiler without control, for certain multi-purpose buildings, and for buildings classified as “exceptionally energy-efficient”. It is advisable to consult a specialist when assessing a specific building.
Where remote reading is in place, the service provider must inform users about their heat and hot water consumption for each calendar month, no later than the end of the following month. The information may also be provided by remote access (for example via an online portal), provided the user has been demonstrably informed of this.
Yes. Data transmission is encrypted. The property manager can see data for the whole building, while each individual user can only see data for their own flat.
The central unit (Perseus) stores data internally. As soon as the connection is restored, the data is automatically synchronised again – nothing is lost.
Would you like to sort it out without any hassle?
We will advise you on which components from the individual systems will be best for your meters. Write to us at bola@bola.cz.
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