For many of us, our morning cuppa can't come fast enough – we need that caffeine, stat!
And if you're really hanging for your first brew of the day, waiting for the kettle to boil can feel like an eternity.
If you've often wished you could snap your fingers and have a cup of hot tea in your hands, a hot water dispenser might be on your radar.
On this page:
- What is a hot water dispenser?
- Are hot water dispensers worth it?
- Kettles: Pros and cons
- Hot water dispensers: Pros and cons
- Do hot water dispensers use a lot of electricity?
What is a hot water dispenser?
Also known as an instant kettle, it does exactly what it says on the tin: dispenses hot water instantly.
That might conjure images of those old-school urns that you'd find at a CWA meeting or perhaps even one of those fancy integrated taps that pump out chilled and boiling filtered water, but instant hot water dispensers sit somewhere in between those two extremes.
They only heat as much water as you need – unlike a kettle that heats however much water is inside
Rather than being built into your kitchen sink, they're standalone appliances that sit on your kitchen bench, just like a kettle. (But with a larger footprint.)
And rather than holding a large quantity of hot water like an urn, they heat the water on demand, only heating as much as you need – unlike a kettle that heats however much water is inside.
You can select how much water you want and at what temperature. They may have a number of pre-set temperatures that deliver water that's the right temperature for things such as baby formula and specialty teas.
Some have water filters that claim to remove or reduce chlorine, heavy metals, limescale, microplastics and PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances).
You can select the temperature and amount of water you want.
Are hot water dispensers worth it?
You'll get the same thing – hot water – from both a kettle and a hot water dispenser, so why would you choose a hot water dispenser?
There are a few reasons:
- You have a large household so you need plenty of hot water when it's afternoon tea time (or perhaps you just often have lots of people over for tea parties and don't want to be constantly reboiling the kettle).
- You have a physical condition such as arthritis that makes picking up, filling and pouring from a kettle difficult
- You're a sleep-deprived parent who needs hot water for baby formula in a hurry, to keep the crying to a minimum (both yours and the baby's!)
Kettles: Pros and cons
Pros:
- Smaller footprint than a hot water dispenser
- Can be cheaper
- Simpler design – there's less to go wrong with it
- Available in a wide range of colours and finishes, and you can match them to other kitchen appliances such as toasters
- Some have features such as different temperature settings for specific types of tea or filling a hot water bottle with hot rather than boiling water
Cons:
- Takes longer to boil
- Can be heavy or awkward to pour
- Greater risk of spills and burns
- Heats however much water is in the kettle, which may be more than you need
Instant hot water dispensers hold far more water than kettles, so you won't need to refill them as often.
Hot water dispensers: Pros and cons
Pros:
- Delivers boiling water faster than a kettle
- Only boil as much water as you need, so you're not wasting electricity
- Suitable for people with physical disabilities or limitations – there's no need to pick up and pour from a heavy a kettle
- Reduced risk of spills and burns
- Safety features such as automatic child locks
- Much easier to see the water level because the viewing windows are larger
- Some have multiple temperature settings
- Larger capacity than most kettles
- You can select how much water you want to dispense
Cons:
- Can cost more to buy than traditional kettles
- For the models we've tested, the water temperature dropped to around 83°C by the time they'd finished dispensing 1L of water – so they might not be suitable if you want larger quantities of boiling water rather than just a cup or two
- Takes up more space on the bench than a traditional kettle
- Unit is heavier than a kettle so could be tricky to move around if needed
- Water reservoir is heavy to carry when full (but you can fill it with a jug)
- Made from plastic components, which makes them unsuitable for people looking for non-plastic solutions such as stainless steel and glass
- Some people have expressed concerns about the water tasting plasticky (however, this can also be an issue with plastic kettles)
Do hot water dispensers use a lot of electricity?
This is a 'how long is a piece of string?' question.
Let's compare them to using a kettle for a reference point. Firstly, it depends entirely on how frequently you use your kettle and how much water you boil each time. (We recommend only boiling as much as you need, rather than heating a full kettle every time).
Our experts estimate that boiling a full kettle a couple of times a day over the course of a year will set you back about $32.
Boiling a full kettle a couple of times a day over the course of a year will set you back about $32
By comparison, the two hot water dispensers we recently tested cost just over $27 to run per year. They also draw electricity on standby mode, which will cost you an extra $1.80 each year – so all up, just under $30 a year.
So there's not a great deal of difference between them, but obviously your costs will vary depending on how frequently you use your kettle or hot water dispenser, how much water you heat each time and whether you have solar.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
