Hot water dispenser vs kettle: Which is better?

Whether you’re looking for new ways to add efficiency to your home or office, there are small changes we can make that often go overlooked.

What do we spend most of our time doing? Making tea, coffee, and any hot drink of your choice. We all do it—preparing a drink to kickstart our morning, giving ourselves a productivity boost with a cup of coffee—at this point, it’s something we do on autopilot.

You may have seen the debate between hot water dispensers and kettles. Many people are wondering whether the trusty kettle is enough or if hot water dispensers are actually a better long-term option.

Today, we’ll compare the two so you can determine which option is better for you, once and for all.

If you’re a business or homeowner looking to revolutionise your daily routine, browse our range of beautiful and modern water coolers and dispensers today. Expect great prices and excellent service every time!

Speed and convenience

Sure, the kettle is a great invention for speedily making our favourite drinks in a matter of minutes. But with workloads and daily tasks increasing, is it still enough to fuel our needs?

When you’re running about and you have no time to spare, waiting a few minutes for a kettle to boil can be the final straw. That’s where the difference between a kettle and a hot water dispenser really starts to show.

With a kettle, you fill it up, switch the button and wait. But hot water dispensers provide boiling water straight away from the tap.

At home use

If homeowners only have one or two cups of tea or coffee a day, using a kettle is probably more cost-effective and convenient.

It just sits on your countertop, taking up little space and serving you well when you need it. If you have a large family or live in a shared house, however, you could avoid many arguments in the morning by investing in a hot water dispenser (no more running late for the bus).

Office use

When several people or more prepare hot drinks in a day, investing in a hot water dispenser is a no-brainer. Rather than needing to refill and reboil the kettle every five minutes, wouldn’t it just be easy to place your cup onto a hot water tap and be done with it?

Trust us, you’ll notice reduced downtime in the long run, bettering workplace productivity.

Energy consumption and efficiency

With energy bills and consumption constantly on the rise, many homeowners and business owners are searching for small ways to reduce their usage.

While kettles are designed to boil water quickly, they do so at the cost of energy efficiency. A standard kettle uses around 2 to 3 kilowatts of electricity every time it boils.

We only need a small amount of water for one hot drink, but let’s face it: most people overfill their kettles, which means they’re using energy to heat water they’re not even going to use. Hot water dispensers use a similar amount of energy initially to heat the water, BUT it’s how it’s delivered that makes the difference.

Dispensers use low-energy standby heating to keep the water hot and ready to use, minimising energy usage throughout the day.

Many of the hot water dispensers we offer at Drop Water Coolers come with features like:

• Self-diagnostics system
• Thermal insulation to minimise heat loss
• Long-life Incoloy element and stainless steel drip tray

Cost comparison

Kettles may seem like the cost-effective option, but understanding the true cost means looking beyond the purchase price.

Kettles are cheaper up front, but they’re surprisingly expensive to run.

A standard kettle in the UK can cost anywhere from £10 to £100 for higher-quality models. On the other hand, hot water dispensers typically start at £50 to £300 or more for commercial products or plumbed-in dispensers .

So, yes, kettles are inexpensive to buy, but they use around 2.5–3 kW per boil. If you multiply that by how many times you use it a day, let’s say four times a day (around 1.5 litres), that adds up to 15 kWh per week or 60 kWh per month.

By investing in a hot water dispenser, you can expect better energy efficiency— they typically use around 0.5–1.0 kWh per day or 15–30 kWh per month, which results in £4.20 to £8.40 per month.

Compare this to £16.80 per month for a kettle, and you’re saving around 50% on running costs! Plus, dispensers last longer, so you won’t need to replace them as often.

Capacity and usage

We often forget that we use boiling water for more than just hot drinks at home. You’ll find yourself filling the kettle to prepare pans for cooking, filling up a mop bucket, disinfecting kitchenware, etc.

When you live in a small household, this seems manageable. But when you’ve got 30 people or more in an office setting needing to grab a hot drink, this leads to:

• Queuing for the kettle
• Constant re-boiling
• Frequent re-filling and water usage

Plus, kettles aren’t designed for large-scale use, so they can quickly become worn down when used by a business. That’s where hot water dispensers come in; they’re designed to meet constant demand, holding 3–5 litres of boiling water or more.

And it’s not just drinks that they’re handy for. They also provide fast dispensing for:

• Filling up hot water bottles in winter
• Preparing meals like noodles and soups
• Sterilising shared utensils

At Drop Water Coolers, our hot water dispensers are ideal for offices, healthcare facilities, salons, cafe’s, retail spaces, etc.

To sum up

To help you make a quick decision, we’ve included a side-by-side comparison of what to expect from each option.

Invest in convenience with Drop Water Coolers

If you’re ready to transform the efficiency of your business, then contact us today to get started with one of our office water coolers or dispensers. 

We offer a free 14-day trial for all new customers, so you can try before you buy. With a range of modern and compact products to browse, there’s something for every office, big or small.

It’s time to reduce downtime and upgrade your employees’ daily routine.