Water cooler for home

Today there is a water cooler in almost every office. And many people think about installing it at home. But manufacturers are releasing more and more models that differ in their design, characteristics, functionality and features of the device, care. How not to make a mistake and choose the right water cooler for the house? This will be discussed in this article.

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Kinds of

The name of the coolers came from the English "cool" - to cool. Indeed, initially the devices only cooled the water. But today, manufacturers offer a variety of functions, including devices with a heating function.

In general, all models of coolers can be divided:

1. For installation - floor and desktop structures.
2. According to the control method - electronic and mechanical.
3. By feeding water - from a bottle or through a filter.

Important! Also, when choosing a device, you should pay attention to its economy, the brand of the manufacturer, the quality of materials, safety and its appearance.

Let's look at some of the details, but first we'll figure out the difference between a cooler and a purifier.

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Cooler or cooler?

Behind difficult words, in fact, there is very little difference in the way of water supply to the device:

1. The water cooler is a device for cooling and heating water with various additional functions. The water is supplied to the device through a 19-liter bottle.
2. The cooler is the same cooler, but uses the central water supply as a source of water. This type of cooler is equipped with special filters and significantly improves the quality of water from the tap. This option will help save on the purchase of water for the device, but increases the cost of maintaining the filter system of the device. In addition, such devices are much more expensive than conventional water coolers.

Consider the main types of coolers and purifiers.

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Desktop or floor model?

Which model you choose, you should be comfortable using it. Therefore, in advance, consider where and how the device will be located and how easy it will be to service.

Important! For the desktop version, you should provide a special cradle, for the floor - you need a certain amount of space, but it's easier to install.

Floor structures

Their name speaks for itself. These are large structures that are separately placed on the floor. In size, such units resemble small, narrow refrigerators.

These water supply devices use a bottle that can be installed either from above or from the bottom of the cooler, depending on the features of its design.

Important! Such devices are well proven in offices, but water coolers for home should be more convenient to maintain.

Desktop designs

In office desktop coolers are rare, but they are gaining popularity in private homes. Most often these coolers use special cylinders as a source of water supply. It is rare to see models with a bottle, but because of their cumbersomeness and inconvenience they are not popular.

Important! Cylinders of desktop coolers in the same way as floor coolers can be installed from above and from below. At the top position of the balloon in advance choose a place: it should stand steadily, do not interfere, and at the same time access to it should always be open.

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Bottle or water connection?

Of course, the choice of the cooler always remains with the buyer, but today, from two options, devices with filters that are connected to the central water supply look more convenient and modern. Let's go into more detail.

Bottled connection

When installing the bottle from above, be prepared for some difficulties. This is a great design that does not look very aesthetic. Also, in process of devastation, it is filled with air together with bacteria, which is very comfortable in a humid environment.

Coolers with the bottom loading hide a bottle for a door, to establish it easier, than upward. But even in this case, the problem of getting germs into the balloon is relevant here.

Especially often microorganisms do not accumulate in the bottles themselves or in cylinders, but in storage tanks of devices. If you disassemble the device without bacterial protection, an unpleasant deposit of microbial biomass can be found in the accumulator.

Important! Modern water coolers are supplemented with a special ultraviolet lamp, which destroys microbes in the accumulator.

Water for coolers, sold in bottles, is cleaned at the enterprises with special filters, which, as a result, produce practically distilled water, which means - "dead" water. Then everything depends on the supplier.

Important! There are businesses that honestly enrich the water with missing elements, and there are unscrupulous suppliers.

For all bottled coolers there are several common drawbacks:

1. Large volume and weight of the device due to the installation of a heavy bottle.
2. Unprotected water from getting into it bacteria.
3. The inferiority of water sold in bottles.
4. Incomplete storage of empty containers.
5. Difficulty of maintenance.
6. High costs for the purchase of bottled water and its delivery.
7. No power saving.

In this regard, flow-through coolers for home water are more convenient and modern.

Coolers with flow-through connection

These models do not depend on the purchase of water and are connected directly to the water supply. Their cost is much higher than bottled options, but if you calculate the cost of buying water for a year, then a flow connection is obtained by a more profitable investment.

In these designs, different types of filters are provided:

• reverse osmosis system - cleans water to distilled water;
• system of soft filtration - leaves a part of trace elements and minerals in water, destroying bacteria and removing extraneous smells.

Important! Such devices are very compact and they are easy to use not only in offices, but also as a water cooler for home.

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Choosing a cooler

When it becomes clear with the basic types of coolers, the question arises of choosing a device. Consider the important points to which you should pay attention.

Functionality

For the functions to be performed, all devices can be divided into:

• water cooling;
• heating;
• combined options;
• models, designed only for filling water.

Important! When choosing a dispenser for a home, the best option is a device that combines both cooling and heating.

You should also pay attention to the additional functionality of a specific model:

1. Presence of ozonizer: helps to kill bacteria on dishes or fruits and vegetables. For an office version, this function is unlikely to be needed, but at home the ozonizer can be an excellent assistant both for protection against bacteria and as an additional storage space in the off mode.
2. Freezer is a convenient addition for both office and home. In a small cell you can keep products brought to work, or arrange a home mini-bar inside this compartment.
3. Possibility of installation of a cylinder for carbonation. An interesting option that will bring variety to home beverages. Today even water coolers exist with the ability to regulate the saturation of gas in water.
4. Screen showing the water temperature. Convenient and beautiful, but without it the cooler will perfectly cope with its destination.
5. There are also devices equipped with the possibility of temperature control. In addition to ease of use, the ability to independently set the desired temperature allows you to save on electricity.
6. Cooling options. If the same mechanisms are used to heat the coolers, then with cooling, everything is more complicated. Cooling is available in different versions:
   • Thermoelectric method is an electronic version of cooling water using a special Peltier element. The essence of his work is that the element functions due to the temperature difference that appears when a current passes through it.
   • With the help of a compressor - as in refrigerators, only the air is cooled, not water. Such water coolers are much larger and heavier than their electronic counterparts, but they work faster.

Important! From how many functions the manufacturers have provided in the device, its final cost will depend.

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Useful advices:

1. For home use, the desktop version of a dispenser with electronic cooling is more suitable.
2. Using bottled dispensers is not the best option for a home, as it is a more expensive and difficult to maintain option.
3. In domestic use, purifiers are more convenient, connected directly to the water supply. Pay attention to their filter - the best option will be a system of soft cleaning, but if the quality of water leaves much to be desired, then without a reverse osmosis filter can not do.
4. Even if the device is equipped with a UV lamp, it is necessary to carry out preventive cleaning of the cooler. For this, it is better to turn to professionals.
5. Do not install the cooler in unventilated rooms, or in rooms with high temperatures.

If you doubt whether it is worth buying a cooler for the house, there is an option to rent it, and having already used it for a while, decide whether it is necessary for you in everyday life.