What is a Direct Chill Water Cooler?

Our Direct Chill Water Cooler range uses innovative chilling technology to ensure that you will always have an unlimited supply of instantly chilled, ice cold drinking water. But first, Plumbed Water Coolers come in two variants: Reservoir and Direct Chill. So what's the difference?

With a traditional reservoir-type plumbed water cooler, the water is taken from the mains water supply and is gradually chilled over time and stored in the insulated tank. The temperature of the water dispensed will depend on the hourly volume and the turnover at peak times. If the water cooler is being used by a large number of people in a short time period. This is because when the tank is emptied, the system does not have the opportunity to fully chill the water in time for everyone - which isn’t ideal!

A Direct Chill plumbed water system takes water directly from the mains water supply and utilises a refrigerated coil, where the water is instantly chilled and dispensed. The innovative Direct Chill system works via conduction, where a refrigerant gas inside the coil cools the flowing water but does not directly touch the water, which in turn becomes ice cold. When the dispensing button is pressed, fresh filtered water flows direct from the mains supply into the chilling coil. Direct chilling ensures that the water temperature is constant and is particularly effective for use in busy, demanding environments. Direct Chill water coolers are able to handle high-traffic areas and some of our models are even able to produce up to 180 litres of chilled water per hour. Direct Chill technology is the most effective way of chilling water rapidly, providing a continuously ice-cold supply of drinking water for everyone.

Direct Chill water coolers are more hygienic than reservoir water coolers because they prohibit bacterial proliferation. With a basic reservoir water cooler, the tank is constantly being partially emptied and refilled. Therefore if your company is closed for periods of more than a few days and the water cooler is not in use, then your water will have been sitting in the tank for this period of time. Whereas, Direct Chill water coolers eliminate the risk of bacteria build-up because there is no reservoir for water to stagnate in. This means the risk of biological contamination is significantly reduced compared to a reservoir dispenser on account of there being no exposure of the water to the atmosphere and airborne bugs. Schools, in particular, are highly recommended to use a Direct Chill water cooler to allow for closures during school holidays, when water would otherwise stagnate in a typical reservoir plumbed water cooler. What is more, because the water is transported directly from the mains water supply to the dispense faucet, this greatly reduces the chances of contamination and impurity in your drinking water.

Direct chilled water ensures that only the water required is cooled, rather than a larger volume being available on standby which may not be needed. This means the efficiency of the water cooler is greater. This along with the high level of insulation in the water dispenser can result in lower energy consumption compared to a standard reservoir water cooler. Therefore saving you money as well as lowering your carbon footprint. For example, the typical average energy consumption over an 8 hour day of a hot and cold Direct Chill model could be just 0.885kW/h compared to 1.107kW/h for a hot and cold reservoir model).

Now we know the ins and outs of Direct chilling technology, we can all agree that Direct Chill is the superior cooling method, with a distinct advantage over other water coolers. The Water Cooler Company proudly stocks a wide variety of Direct Chill Water Coolers from leading manufacturers. We take pride in sourcing and supplying our customers with the best quality products out there. Whether you require a counter top unit because of limited space, or need a high capacity water cooler for busy spaces, we are sure to stock it. You can browse our range of Direct Chill Water Coolers on our website.