In typical coolers systems such as Fixed Reservoir, UV and Direct Chill, water is filtered as it enters the unit before being deposited in a large reservoir – as it is now chlorine free, all of the water that has been deposited in the cooler – typically about 2.5 liters – loses it’s antibacterial properties, and therefore becomes susceptible to bacterial contamination.
With Direct Dispense however, the amount of water that is susceptible to contamination is reduced by more than 98% – this is because the water supply is not filtered before it enters the cooler – but just before the point of dispense.
Alternative methods such as Direct Chill still have approx 500ml open to contamination, whilst UV filtration systems are ineffective at cleaning all parts of the cooler such as pipes and dispense taps and therefore still have about 60ml of water susceptible to contamination.
Direct Dispense has the lowest volume of susceptible water of all these methods at just 30ml – the result is a system which gives a 98% reduction in the possibility of bacterial contamination – offering you and your customers complete peace of mind and yet more industry leading technology from Ebac.
» The Benefits of Direct Chill without the High Costs
Direct Chill is becoming an increasingly popular method of dispensing water in POU water coolers. The attraction of the system is that the drinking water isn’t stored in a reservoir prior to drinking – reservoirs have air above the water which makes an ideal place for bacteria to grow and allows water to go stale.
Our Direct Dispense system has the exact same benefits – water does not come into contact with air until dispense which keeps it cleaner and less prone to contamination.
The main drawback of Direct Chill is that it is inefficient in comparison to Direct Dispense – the drinking water in a Direct Chill system is cooled by passing it through a sub-cooled liquid (usually water). If drinking water is wanted at around 5ºC, the cooling water must be colder than this at about 0ºC.
This water is cooled by a refrigeration system and it takes approximately 25% more energy to cool the water to 0ºC compared to cooling to 5ºC as in Direct Dispense – which means the Direct Chill system costs more to run.
» Unrivalled Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency is becoming of increasing importance to water cooler customers – in a recent study we found that 76% of facility managers would be ‘Much More Likely’ to purchase a unit that was more energy efficient than competitors.
Unlike competitor models, our industry award winning Hot Tank in our Executive POU works like a vacuum flask and features an extra layer of insulation to ensure than it retains it’s heat – it is therefore heated less frequently, and as a result is 30 times more energy efficient than other Hot Tanks.
Customers will save around £32 per cooler each year on running costs – so a medium size business with 5 coolers will save over £150 each year. As well as financial savings, customers will also be reducing their Carbon Footprint – an increasingly important fact.
Customer satisfaction survey
Thank you to all our customers who took time to answer our end of year customer survey. Some of the responses this year were very surprising including five customers requesting a cooler which dispenses champagne or beer which means we are not the only ones to think of this!
- 85% of respondents were “very satisfied” with our service and 12% “satisfied”. As we will only be happy with 100% we have put in place quarterly reviews with a dedicated account manager assigned to each customer. At the slightest problem the account manager and customer work together to ensure the problem is quickly resolved (eg increase the scheduled delivery frequency, convert the customer to a mains solution, etc) and we are already witnessing improved customer service.
- 91% of customers believe their water delivery service has improved since joining Living-Water.
- Our accounts department only got 62% “very satisfied” a reflection of a statement generation problem earlier in the year. This was quickly resolved and the low score may also be a reflection that our credit control department becoming far more active in chasing up late payers!
- 85% of customers believe the style and looks of their water cooler are an improvement on what they previously had.
- 66% of customers believe they can tell the difference between Living-Water’s spring water and that of competing brands. This was surprising, but given that a competitor has hit the headlines having received 50 complaints when supplying tap water as if spring water, it shows that fortunately customers cannot be hoodwinked by unscrupulous suppliers.
- 55% of respondents feel it is “important” for Living-Water to rename the spring where our water is bottled as “Living Spring Water” which will allow us to advertise the content of our water on our water coolers and bottles. As a result we have approached the Local Authority to change the name from SpringH2O to “Living Spring Water”.
- 33% of customers feel “Branded work-wear” clearly identifying drivers as Living-Water would be of benefit. In the summer we already provide staff with Living-water T-shirts with individual driver names and caps. As a result of the survey this has now been extended to winter coats.
- 22% of customers feel that branded vans are “important”. Since branding our vans in 2008 we have seen an increase in potential customer enquiries and a big drop in parking tickets!
Living-water supplies businesses with water coolers in London and water cooler accessories.
