Red Dot 2024 · NPS 90 · 600+ companies · 10+ countries
The four requirements at a glance
1.
Space
A cabinet at least 75 cm wide, 52 cm deep, 60 cm floor to worktop, kept for the system alone. 95 cm wide with a Smart Jerrycan.
2.
A mains water connection
A G 3/4" threaded tap within two to three metres, the same fitting a washing machine uses. On its own line, not shared with a dishwasher.
3.
A power socket
A standard grounded three-pin socket, reachable from inside the cabinet. Two if you're taking hot water.
4.
Ventilation
A 25 by 6 cm opening through the cabinet floor or door, so warm air can escape.
(Optional)
A drain
A 40 mm vertical drain no more than 450 mm off the floor is ideal. Where there isn't one, the Smart Jerrycan collects wastewater in a removable container instead.
No water connection or drain nearby?
No drain
The Smart Jerrycan collects wastewater in a removable container, so the system runs without a drain connection. You empty it roughly every 400 drinks. Specified when we quote, not discovered on installation day, and it asks for a wider cabinet: 95 cm instead of 75 cm.
No water connection in reach
Two things decide whether the tap you have will work. It needs to serve the system on its own, because a shared line loses pressure every time the dishwasher runs. And it needs flow.
The test we use
Fill a four-liter bottle from that tap and time it. Under 60 seconds and you're fine. If the tap doesn't clear both, a dedicated line is needed before installation. You'll know that from the intake, not on the day: one checklist, a few photos of the cabinet, and we tell you what the site needs.
At design stage, a REFILL+ needs three lines on a drawing. Retrofitted into a finished kitchen, it needs a joiner, a plumber, and a conversation about who pays.
What to draw in
Water
G 3/4" potable mains with active water stop, 2–3 m, dedicated line
Power
230V grounded socket. Two if the scheme includes HOT
Waste
40 mm vertical drain, max 450 mm from floor, goose neck
Cabinet
750 × 520 × 600 mm minimum. 950 mm wide with a Jerrycan
Worktop
40 mm max thickness, 130 mm cutout, 250 mm clear around
The cabinet needs to be its own. No boiler, no bin pull-out, no shared services. Draw it as dedicated joinery and the install is 45 minutes. Draw it as spare space under the sink and it comes back as a variation.
How the installation works
Forty-five minutes. One visit. Nobody needs to move out of the kitchen.
Before you sign
We walk the site with you, tape measure included. A few photos and a short checklist tell us whether the site is ready.
On the day
Water, power and drain connected, dispenser mounted, filter and flavor boxes fitted, de-airing and a test pour. 45 minutes inside a cabinet.
After
AURA monitors the system. Filter changes and flavor reorders get flagged before anyone notices anything running low.
When the site is ready, we install within two weeks.
BUILT IN
Machine in the cabinet, only the dispenser on the worktop. What most offices choose when the kitchen is there or being built.
AQUABLU CABINET
Yes. Chilled, ambient and sparkling have no hardness condition: Purify filters by charge rather than pore size, so contaminants come out and the minerals stay in. Where the scheme includes HOT, hard water needs a descaling filter above 60 mg/L, fitted upstream of the hot module.
LEARN MORE
01
What do you need to install a water cooler in an office?
Four things, and a fifth that's optional. A cabinet at least 75 cm wide, 52 cm deep and 60 cm from floor to worktop, kept for the system alone. A G 3/4" mains tap within two to three metres, on its own line. A grounded 230V socket you can reach from inside the cabinet. And a ventilation opening of 25 by 6 cm through the cabinet floor or door. A drain is ideal, 40 mm and no more than 450 mm off the floor, though where there isn't one the Smart Jerrycan takes its place. Installation is quoted per system.
02
Is it hard to install a water cooler?
Not for you: with Aquablu there's nothing to install yourself. No installation kit, no third-party plumber to book. The engineer connects the dispenser to your mains supply, fits the filter, tests everything and hands it over working.
03
What if there's no water connection nearby?
Two to three metres is the working distance. REFILL+ Series 2 connects to a G 3/4" threaded tap, the same fitting a washing machine uses, and that tap needs to be on its own line rather than shared with a dishwasher or coffee machine. Where there's no tap in reach, a dedicated line has to go in before installation. You'll know that from the site walk, before you sign, not on the day.
04
How long does installation take?
The installation itself takes about 45 minutes.
05
Who carries out the installation?
Our own engineers. You don't arrange anything yourself, and you don't book a plumber.
06
Can we move the dispenser, or take it when we relocate?
Yes. We move it for you, within your office or to a new building. Expect £225 to £300, depending on the situation.Yes. We move it for you, within your office or to a new building. Expect £225 to £300, depending on the situation.
07
Does a water cooler need plumbing?
Yes, and that's the point: the REFILL+ Series 2 connects to your mains supply and filters the water at the tap, so there are no bottles to order, store or run out of. A standard connection point in the kitchen area is usually enough, and if yours sits in the wrong place, the site survey settles what's needed before anything is signed.
