A boiling water tap is this year’s must-have addition to your kitchen.
No more waiting for pans or kettles to boil before you can throw in some pasta or make a cup of tea. In an instant you can have boiling water – quite literally – on tap. The number of people searching for boiling tap reviews online shows that this fantastic kitchen accessory is very much becoming essential, particularly amongst our clients looking for their new luxury kitchen.
We explore the options available to you to help you work out which is best boiling water tap for your home and requirements.
What to consider
If you’re having a new luxury kitchen commissioned, your designer will discuss taps as part of the many things involved in your kitchen project. Almost all clients today ask for a boiling water tap as part of their new kitchen, but there’s a few things to think about as you make your choice.
Space – one of the first things to bear in mind is the space you’ll compromise inside your cabinet, as boiling water taps come with a bit of additional kit. They require a water supply, of course, and a three-pin plug socket underneath the cabinet. The extra equipment can include a smaller boiler or hot water tank and a filter, which can help prevent limescale.
Features – many boiling water taps are actually multifunction taps, offering a range of different features. Also available on many taps are the ability to have chilled, filtered and sparkling water. Consider how you’ll use your tap… boiling water can be perfect for a quick cup of tea or to fill a pan for cooking. Chilled water is great for staying hydrated throughout the day – as is sparkling, although many household don’t consume much sparkling water.
Look for a tap that meets your needs exactly and don’t go overboard – a tap without sparkling water may have a smaller tank underneath saving you cabinet space and also cost less to run.
Running costs – A lot of people wonder how much boiling water taps cost to run. Good news. A boiling water tap is incredible efficient and running costs are low. According to Quooker, their boiling water taps can cost just 3p per day to run on standby.
Let’s explore some of the most popular boiling water taps on the market today to help you make the right choice for your requirements.
1. Buster + Punch 4-in-1
The 4-in 1 boiling water tap from Buster + Punch is the ideal finishing touch for your new custom kitchen. This tap has 4 functions: ambient cold, filtered cold, instant hot and a normal hot/cold mixer.
When launching this tap, Buster + Punch surveyed customers and found that many didn’t want the sparkling water element of a traditional 5-in-1 boiling water tap, so chose to omit the sparkling element.
Clients can pair their Buster + Punch tap with Buster + Punch handles for their kitchen cabinetry, plus other hardware that the British brand is famous for such as lighting, switches and sockets.
The tap has a compact 2.4L hot water tank with an LED touch screen display showcasing the current temperature and other information.
The 4-in-1 tap heats water to 98°C – this is not only more energy efficient but also provides a safer water stream, with no danger of ‘spitting’ which can happen at 100°C.
Learn more at busterandpunch.com
2. Smeg MAP100CR
Image credit: Smeg UK
The MAP100CR from Smeg is a mixer tap which gives you hot and cold water, so it can replace your existing tap or be the only tap in your new kitchen. Like the Grohe above, the Smeg tap is also child-friendly with a safety mechanism installed in order to avoid water scalding. The neck of the tap is also insulated, so you won’t burn your fingers when you touch it.
The tank is 3 litres which is more than enough for the majority of households and is extremely energy efficient. This beautiful Smeg hot water tap comes in a smart chrome finish and suits all types of kitchens.
Learn more at SmegUK.com
3. Quooker Fusion
Image credit: Quooker
One of the best-known names in the boiling water tap business, Quooker has created a very stylish boiling water tap called Fusion. It’s incredibly safe thanks to its double-push-then-turn switch and it also comes with a red warning ring of light that tells you your water is being boiled.
You’ve got a choice of two tank sizes: standard 3 litres or a mammoth 7 litres, which is ideal if you have a large household of tea drinkers. It’s has a minimal and clean design and is available in a range of colours including matt black, chrome and gold. Perfect if you want to match your boiling water tap to your cabinet handles.
Learn more at Quooker.co.uk
4. Qettle Signature
Image credit: Qettle
Qettle is a British brand offering a number of different boiling water taps, from their 2-in-1 Original and Signature Mini taps to their range of 3 4-in-1 taps. We’ve chosen their Signature Modern and Signature Classic taps, which offer 100°C boiling water from their marine-grade stainless steel taps, available in a range of finishes including brass, copper, gunmetal and black.
Clients can choose from a tank size of 2, 4 or 7 litres depending on the level of usage that the tap will get… these are suitable for 4, 8 or 14 cups of boiling water in one go.
Both the Signature Modern and Signature Classic taps offer the same functionality, the only difference is the aesthetics, with the Modern tap having a knurled handle and the Classic tap offering a white lever handle.
Learn more at Qettle.com
5. Franke Omni
Image credit: Franke United Kingdom
The Omni by Franke is another 4-in-1 tap; in fact they claim to be the world’s first mechanical 4-in-1 kitchen mixer tap. The Omni gives you 100°C boiling water, plus filtered cold water and then mains hot & cold water too, at the turn of the switch.
Thanks to the filtering system you, bottled water in the fridge is a thing of the best and it’s easy to maintain too – Franke say that changing the filter is as easy as changing a light bulb. There’s even an LED light that will alert you when the filter needs a change – roughly every 6-9 months.
If you’ve got young children then this could be the best boiling water tap for your home, as Omni comes with a childproof push-to-activate spring-loaded lever, aiming to keep boiling water away from little hands! As an extra layer of security, there’s a child safety clip included with the tap, and the tap itself stays cool even whilst producing boiling hot water.
The product comes with a 3-year guarantee and is extremely easy to install for both new and existing kitchens.
Learn more at Franke.com
6. Roux Monaco
Image credit: Roux
A surprise entrant from chef Michel Roux Jr’s company, Roux Kitchens, the Roux Monaco hot water tap is one of the pricier options on our list. But it’s a very stylish piece of kit that wouldn’t look out of place in any luxury kitchen. It’s available in a choice of metallic colours too: chrome, brass or gold.
The tank is on the smaller side at 2.4 litres. However, it comes with a handy touchscreen that’s easy to use to set your desired temperature, up to 99°C. It also uses some nano filtration paper to keep the tank free of limescale. This paper should be changed every six months or so.
Learn more at RouxKitchens.com
7. Zip HydroTap All-in-One
Image credit: Zip
A bit of an unusual final entry is the Zip HydroTap All-in-One Classic. Easily the highest priced on the list, this is a great looking chrome tap for those who want something just a little bit different.
The tap comes with a standard tank size of 3 litres which is more than enough for most homes and offers filtered boiling, chilled and sparkling water plus unfiltered hot and cold water.
Learn more at ZipWater.co.uk
8. Grohe Red Duo
A popular manufacturer of German kitchen fixtures (plus other sanitary ware such as bathroom taps, showers etc), Grohe’s Red Duo is a mixer tap and comes with hot and cold water functions too, so they claim it is the only hot water tap you’ll ever need in your kitchen. You have the option of either a 3 litre or a 5.5 litre boiler, so it’s ideal for small and larger families. It’s also fantastic for anybody with a family of young children, as the Grohe hot water tap has a two-step, child-friendly process for obtaining hot water.
The build quality is excellent and it’s a smart, simple design that would fit either a modern or a traditional kitchen perfectly.
Learn more at Grohe.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
As more and more people looking for a boiling water tap for their new kitchen, there is an influx of questions being asked of our designers at Kesseler showrooms across the country, so we thought we’d summarise some here.
Are boiling water taps expensive to run?
Although you might expect that adding a new gadget to your kitchen will mean an increase in day to day costs, that’s not necessarily true. Using an instant hot water tap can more cost effective than you might realise.
The people at indendepent energy consultancy Expert Energy estimate that a hot water tap can use up to 50% less energy than using a traditional kettle. Based on this, they estimate that a boiling water tap can reduce your energy bill by up to £25 per year. So in addition to being more convenient for day to day life in the kitchen, they can save some money aswell.
Is a boiling water tap environmentally friendly?
As we mentioned previously, the fact that a boiling water tap in your kitchen can reduce energy usage by up to 50% compared to a kettle means that they are a more environmentally friendly choice.
It is estimated that a massive 67% of people in Britain overfill their kettle every single time that they use it, leading to 3500 tonnes of CO2 being wasted every day. As a boiling water tap will only dispense as much water as you need, you reduce the amount of energy you waste.
How much electricity does a boiling water tap use?
Firstly, a kettle will use on average 2-3 kilowatts of energy every single time you switch it on. By comparison, a boiling water tap will use around 10 watts of energy to maintain a hot temperature.
If your household has approximately 6 cups of tea or coffee per day, that can be roughly half an hour per day of kettle boiling time. The same tea & coffee consumption with a boiling water tap will use 15x less energy than the kettle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as with any appliance, it’s worth doing your research before deciding which boiling water tap to choose. It’s a great addition to a new kitchen and, as with the products above, the features don’t vary too wildly.
So choose the one that dispenses water in the style you’re most likely to use (e.g. boiling or sparkling) and in the size that’s right for your family. And finally, opt for the tap that will look the most aesthetically pleasing in your new kitchen.