What to look for in a hot & cold water dispenser

07/02/2017 Océane Bidault

Investing in a water dispenser takes thought. After all, when you buy or rent a water-dispensing unit, you want it to offer convenience and versatility, as well as being suitable in the long term. What are the factors on which to base your choice? Let’s look at some of the features of water dispensers and the advantages they offer.

The Type of Dispenser

There are two dispenser types:

1. Bottle fed – as the name suggests, water is provided via a bottle which often, sits on top of the unit and is a gravity fed system. As the tap is opened, water ‘drops’ and is fed through a filtration system. On some bottled water coolers, this water bottle is hidden behind a panel but on others, is visible.
2. Mains-fed – also known as plumbed-in water dispensers, these units take their water from a rising main. They cannot be used with a system in which the water is held in a tank before being fed through a system. Common in high footfall areas, mains-fed water dispensers are ideal in any workplace or public space.

Temperature

The most basic of water dispensers produce chilled or ambient water on demand. Ambient refers to ‘air temperature’, for want of a better description. Chilled or ambient water is a personal preference, although chilled water is often in demand during hot summer months.

There are water dispensers that offer a third option: hot water. At the touch of a button, hot water at the right temperature for tea and coffee is dispensed. This makes taking a break from work with your favourite brew much easier and convenient.

Water Type

As well as hot, ambient and chilled water, there is another option, which many hospitality customers find useful.

Sparkling water can also be a feature on some of our water dispensing machines. In fact, many of our units come with differing combinations of water temperatures too.

1. Cold only
2. Cold and ambient
3. Cold and sparkling water
4. Extra hot and cold
5. Extra hot, cold and sparkling

Capacity

To understand the capacity of the water dispenser, you need to have some kind of understanding of the level of use of the machine. For a water dispenser to offer a high level of convenience, and dispense the cups of water you need, it must easily meet demand.

Capacity is measured in cups per hour. You might wonder, especially in the case of a mains-fed unit, why this matters because, surely it is a case of turning on a tap?

Our units dispense water that is clean, free from chemical residue, sediment and water-borne bacteria. This is because when you press the button or open the tap, water passes through carbon filters and other cleansing processes to ensure that the water you drink tastes great. This takes a small amount of time and thus, units will have a per cup capacity indication.

Floor standing or counter top

The next choice is whether to opt for a floor standing or counter-top unit.

Floor standing water dispensers work well in a workspace where you have the right spot to place it – this means, where people can access it and where it is within a metre of an electrical socket.

Counter-top units are a smaller version of its freestanding cousin - smaller in size but not capacity.

Both are great options it you want to move the water dispenser, such as to the board room for when meetings take place or to another room at other times.

Mains-fed water dispensers are fixed in their location thus you will need to give its final spot some thought.

Design

Water dispensers are well-designed pieces of equipment that fit all interior design schemes. For example, there is a range of units that take inspiration from Greek columns, with linear column detailing. Or you can opt for the modern, minimalist styles with smooth, curved edges.

They are also available in various colours, with some units coming in grey, black or white.

Rent or Buy

Now all you need to decide is whether to rent a water cooler or to buy your own. There are pros and cons to both, something our team will be more than happy to discuss with you – call us!