Bottled or Mains-Fed Water Cooler? How to Choose for Your London Office

Choosing a water cooler for an office sounds straightforward until you start looking at the options. Should you have bottled water delivered, or would it make more sense to connect a cooler directly to the mains?

For some London workplaces, the answer is fairly obvious. For others, it depends on the building, the number of people using the cooler, how much space you have and how much drinking water the office gets through.

A small company working from a converted building in Central London can have very different requirements from a business occupying several floors of a modern office block.

There isn’t one type of water cooler that’s right for every workplace. It makes more sense to look at how your office actually works before deciding.

What Is a Bottled Water Cooler?

A bottled water cooler is a standalone dispenser supplied by replaceable bottles of drinking water. It normally needs an electrical socket, but doesn’t require a connection to the building’s mains water supply.

That makes bottled coolers quite flexible. They can be positioned in reception areas, meeting rooms, staff kitchens and other convenient areas without having to arrange plumbing.

For businesses renting their premises, or offices where altering the building isn’t practical, that simplicity can be particularly useful.

Living-Water supplies bottled water coolers in several formats, including floor-standing and compact tabletop models, with options available to rent or buy.

What Is a Mains-Fed Water Cooler?

A mains-fed water cooler is connected directly to the building’s water supply. You may also hear these described as plumbed-in, bottleless or point-of-use water coolers.

Instead of replacing a bottle when it becomes empty, water comes from the mains supply and passes through the cooler’s filtration system.

For offices with regular demand, this removes the need to order, replace and store bottles.

There are different configurations available too. Depending on the workplace, you might choose a traditional floor-standing cooler, a countertop model or an under-counter system.

What’s the Main Difference?

The simplest distinction is flexibility versus a direct water supply.

A bottled water cooler gives you more flexibility over where the machine can be positioned, because it doesn’t need to be close to a suitable mains water connection.

A mains-fed cooler provides water directly from the building’s supply, so there are no replacement bottles to manage or store.

Neither of those advantages automatically makes one system better than the other.

The right choice depends on the office.

Think About the Building First

This is particularly relevant in London.

The city has everything from new purpose-built offices to converted houses, listed properties, shared workspaces and older commercial buildings where the plumbing wasn’t designed with modern office equipment in mind.

If you’re considering a mains-fed cooler, there needs to be a suitable water supply that the machine can connect to. Where that connection is located can influence where the cooler can practically be installed.

A bottled cooler doesn’t have the same plumbing requirement. Provided there is a suitable power supply and enough room, you generally have more freedom over its position.

That can be useful if the most convenient place for drinking water is nowhere near an existing water connection.

How Many People Will Use the Cooler?

It’s worth thinking about actual usage rather than simply counting the number of people employed by the business.

A cooler serving six people in a small office has a very different job from one sitting in a busy communal area used by dozens of employees throughout the day.

Hybrid working complicates things further. A business may employ 50 people but have only half of them in the office on an average day. Another workplace might have fewer employees but a constant stream of clients and visitors.

Before choosing a cooler, think about how many people are actually likely to use it and when demand will be highest.

If you’re unsure where to start, our guide to how much water a London office needs looks at estimating workplace drinking-water requirements based on the number of people using the office.

Don’t Forget About Bottle Storage

Bottle storage is easy to overlook when you’re choosing a cooler.

For an office with a decent storeroom, it may not be an issue at all. In a smaller London office where every cupboard and square metre is already being used, it can make a difference.

With a bottled system, you’ll need somewhere suitable to keep replacement bottles and somewhere for the empties before they’re collected.

It’s worth considering how easily bottles can be moved between the storage area and the cooler as well.

A mains-fed system removes the need for bottle storage altogether.

When Does a Bottled Water Cooler Make Sense?

Bottled coolers can work particularly well when flexibility is important.

Perhaps you’re renting the office and don’t want to make changes to the plumbing. Maybe the best position for the cooler isn’t near a convenient water connection. Or perhaps the business expects to move or reorganise the office in the foreseeable future.

Businesses change. Teams grow, departments move around and meeting rooms get repurposed.

Because a bottled cooler isn’t connected to the mains water supply, it can usually be repositioned more easily if the layout changes.

It can also be a straightforward choice for a smaller workplace where water consumption isn’t especially high.

When Does a Mains-Fed Cooler Make Sense?

Where a suitable water connection is available, a mains-fed cooler can make water provision particularly straightforward.

There are no large replacement bottles to change and no stock of bottles to keep an eye on. The cooler draws water from the building’s supply as it’s needed.

That can be useful in larger offices, busy communal spaces and workplaces where the cooler gets frequent use throughout the day.

It may also appeal to businesses where storage space is limited or where staff would simply prefer not to handle replacement bottles.

What About Cost?

Cost shouldn’t be judged solely by looking at the initial price of the machine.

With a bottled cooler, there is the cost of the cooler or rental agreement along with the ongoing bottled water supply.

With a mains-fed system, the machine needs a suitable connection to the building’s water supply, but replacement drinking-water bottles aren’t required.

Then there is the question of whether you want to rent or buy.

Renting can suit businesses that would rather spread the cost and have servicing covered under their agreement. Buying may make more sense for an organisation that prefers to own its equipment.

The best comparison is therefore based on how the cooler will actually be used over time, rather than simply choosing whichever option has the lowest headline price.

What About Cleaning, Maintenance and Servicing?

Whichever system you choose, regular cleaning and maintenance matter.

A water cooler is shared equipment and is likely to be used repeatedly throughout the working day. Keeping it clean and properly maintained should therefore form part of the decision rather than being something considered afterwards.

If you’re renting a cooler, check exactly what is included in the rental arrangement.

If you’re buying one, it’s worth finding out what servicing options are available for the model you’re considering.

This is also one of the reasons businesses sometimes prefer rental. Maintenance, servicing and support can be incorporated into the arrangement rather than managed separately.

What If Your Office Requirements Change?

The system that suits your business today may not necessarily be the one you need several years from now.

A small company might begin with a bottled cooler because it’s convenient and flexible. As the business grows and water consumption increases, switching to a mains-fed system may become more practical.

The opposite can happen too. A business moving from a large permanent office into a smaller or more flexible workspace might find bottled water more convenient.

It’s better to choose for your current requirements while keeping future changes in mind than to over-specify a system simply because the business might grow.

The table isn’t meant to produce an automatic winner. It’s simply a quick way of identifying which practical considerations matter most to your workplace.

Which Water Cooler Should Your London Office Choose?

A few straightforward questions will usually narrow the choice considerably.

Is there a suitable mains water connection near where you want the cooler?

If there isn’t, a bottled cooler may be considerably easier to install in the preferred location.

Is storage space already tight?

A mains-fed cooler removes the need to find somewhere for replacement and empty bottles.

Does the office have consistently high water usage?

A mains-fed system may be more convenient because water comes directly from the building’s supply.

Might the cooler need to move?

A bottled cooler generally provides greater flexibility because it isn’t plumbed into the building.

Are you renting the premises?

Check what changes you’re allowed to make before arranging a mains connection.

Sometimes the answer becomes obvious once you’ve looked at those practical points.

Water Coolers for London Offices

Living-Water supplies bottled and mains-fed water coolers to offices and businesses across London and Greater London.

That means you don’t need to choose one system simply because it’s the only type available from the supplier.

You can compare our office water coolers, explore water cooler rental options or look specifically at our mains-fed water coolers.

If bottled water suits your workplace better, Living-Water also provides bottled water delivery across London.

Businesses that would rather own their equipment can browse our range of water coolers to buy.

Still not sure which option makes the most sense? Tell us roughly how many people use your office, where you’d like the cooler positioned and how much water you expect to use. We can help you narrow down the options and choose a practical setup for your workplace.