What a wonderful invention the kettle was! An effortless tool that can provide boiling water within a few minutes. However, the kettle was designed for home use. It was designed to boil water only just a few times a day, and not constantly.
So, is a kettle the most efficient way to boil water for your office?
It’s time to face it. Most offices, no matter the size, make very good use of the kettle. Whether it’s to make tea or coffee, there are always a stream of office workers who can’t make it through the day without a full cup.
How Much Tea Are People Drinking?
According to a Roy Morgan research, about 50% of Aussies drink at least one cup a week but the number differs in age.
The average age of workers in Australia is 39, and Australians aged 35—49 are likely to drink 9.7 cups a week which amounts to approximately 1.5 per day in any working week. That’s a lot of tea! And even though people love a kettle for its convenience, trying to service that many people a day can cause some issues, like the following:
- Cost: Broken down individually, it probably doesn’t seem like a lot to boil water in a kettle. In fact, according to Canstar, the average 2200W 1.7l kettle costs just 4.55c per person to boil. But think about it. If you’re in an office with 200 employees: a) you’d need more than one kettle and b) that’s a lot of boiling in a day when at least half of them are going to be drinking at least one cup.
- Time efficiency: It can take a few minutes to fill a kettle and then wait for it to boil. Meaning someone will be standing there waiting for it to boil, taking minutes out of their working day.
- Productivity limitations: The humble kettle was meant for use in the home. Just a couple of times a day. In an office, there could be a steady stream of people using it meaning it’s hardly ever off. This is definitely not how its maker intended and could mean you’ll need to be replacing it often.
The Pros of the Instant Hot Water Tap
With all that in mind, take a look at the alternative to the kettle: instant, filtered boiling water taps. At just the push of a button, you can fill your mug with boiling hot water. So, is this the more cost-efficient and convenient option for your office? Let’s take a look:
- Cost-efficient: There’s no need to continually replace boiling water taps because of overuse. Simply book in regular maintenance with a professional to keep it working at its best. Plus, it uses less energy than a kettle, so you’ll be saving money on your power bill too.
- Capacity: If you install an instant hot water tap, it can run off the mains meaning it has the capacity to boil 12litres of water per hour. That’s approximately 110 cups of boiling water an hour. With just the touch of a button!
- More time-efficient: There’s no standing around, waiting for the water to boil. Just walk up, find a mug, fill it with boiling water, and go back to your desk.
- Bette use of the space: You’ll have more space in your kitchen when you get rid of the clunky kettle and install an instant hot water tap in your sink.
Conclusion
The kettle was definitely an amazing invention at the time, providing a simple, albeit time-consuming way of boiling water. There’s no arguing, however, that the kettle has become obsolete with the advent of more advanced options, such as the boiling water tap.
The boiling water tap pretty much knocks the kettle out of the park in every category, including time, cost and space-efficiency. So if your office is in dire need of an upgrade, then it’s not such a bad idea to add the hot water tap to your office to-do list.
