Opting whether to go for a plumbed-in water cooler or bottled water cooler is a tricky decision, but to help you out we have compiled this handy guide to help you make the right choice.
Firstly, the issue of cost arises. The cost of your water cooler will depend on its frequency of usage. Installing a plumbed-in cooler is considered the cheaper option in the long run for users who expect to have a medium or high level of consumption. If you work on the basis of whether you would consume on average one 18.5 litre bottle or more per week, then a plumbed-in unit would offer better value for money.
A bottled water cooler would work out cheaper if you would use on average less than this amount, however we have found that many of our clients still prefer to buy a plumbed-in cooler due to the other benefits that they hold over bottled coolers.
For an installation of this nature location and storage issues need to be taken into account too, a plumbed-in cooler would require access to a ‘potable’ water supply, which can be connected from your mains supply to the cooler within a 15 metre radius.
Both coolers take up roughly the same area of floor space (around one square foot), but bottled coolers offer greater portability as they can be moved to other areas. However you will also need to provide some extra space to store a stock of bottles.
If you are unsure as to whether your office or workplace would be suitable to host a plumbed-in cooler please get in touch with us via our Contact Us page and we will be delighted carry out a free survey of your site.
Budgeting for your consumption can also be an issue. It is very difficult to budget for bottled coolers as your levels of stock consumption can vary greatly depending on the weather and seasons. During hot summer spells consumption can be up to three times that of its normal level.
On the contrary, budgeting for plumbed-in coolers is exceedingly easy as we can supply our coolers on an all-inclusive rental basis, meaning you will know exactly what the cost for each month will be.
Our customers normally pay a fixed monthly fee fully including installation (subject to a site visit), water cooler rental, bi-annual sanitisation and filter replacements, full parts and labour warranty for the term of the rental. The only possible additional cost to this would be if you required extra plastic cups at any point.
In terms of convenience, plumbed-in units offer greater freedom as you will never run out of stock, giving you peace of mind and an unlimited supply of great tasting water all year round. All our coolers are also fitted with 0.9 micron rated water filters, filtering out 99% of all chlorine, herbicides, pesticides and any sedimentary matter that may be found in old pipes, leaving you with a great, high quality taste.
On an environmental level our plumbed-in units also make an impact. It is estimated that the carbon footprint left by a litre of bottled water is around 120g CO2, whereas a litre of filtered water leaves only around 0.3g. Therefore it is obvious that taking water direct from the mains will be better for the environment than continuously importing bottled water due to the lack of transportation by polluting vehicles that is required.
A rental term for a bottled cooler is typically (although not always) 12 months, whereas for a plumbed-in cooler it would normally be 3 years. We can also provide quotations for shorter terms as well as outright purchase if needed. Most of our customers have been delighted to retain our services long after their initial term has ended.
