What is the Difference between a Water Cooler and a Water Dispenser?

One often hears the terms water dispenser and water cooler bandied about, and they are often interchanged, but they are not really 100% the same. There are some subtle differences between the two and one should not be mistaken for the other.

All water coolers are water dispensers, but not all water dispensers are water coolers!

Water Dispenser

A water dispenser is basically any receptacle that draws liquids from a tank and dispenses via a tap. This includes kitchen or bathroom taps, anon-board water dispenser system in a fridge, a water jug with a tap, or a unit that holds a large pre-filled water bottle that dispenses water via a tap.

An additional tap installed in the wall to fill large receptacles or supply on-tap water is also a type of water dispenser.

Water Cooler

A water cooler is similar to the water receptacle that holds a large water-bottle and dispenses water via a tap, but has a compressor that is designed to cool the water. This is also commonly known and/or referred to as a bottled water cooler.

Water is dispensed via one or two taps, depending on the model and whether it has a hot water feature or not. Some water coolers have three taps; hot, ambient and cold.

Water coolers were once only used in offices, boardrooms, hotels and sports facilities, but the modern versions are finding their way into homes too. Many homes and guest houses or cottages have installed smaller water coolers where the water is not that potable, or where it is necessary to have cold water on tap.

Water coolers come in two styles; bottled water coolers and bottleless water coolers. The water coolers that do not have bottles are called mains water coolers or POU water coolers.

Living-Water offers three different bottled water coolers, including a table top version which is perfect as a home water cooler. These aesthetically-pleasing water coolers look good in any venue, and can be colour-coordinated to your home or corporate colours.

Living-Water mains water coolers are plumbed into the main water line. The range includes a fountain version and an under-counter version that is perfect for the hospitality industry.

Source:

http://housewares.about .com/od/waterqualityappliances/g/waterdispenser.htm