How to Find the Perfect Water Cooler

There is a myriad of options to choose from when investing in a water cooler for your business or home. No matter the configuration and features you choose, look for one that has earned the ENERGY STAR label to save energy, save money and help protect the climate.

Consider the options

Among the many options, there are on-demand and conditioned storage units that supply chilled, hot, and/or room temperature potable water. Cold-only models dispense chilled water only. Cook and cold units dispense both room temperature and chilled water, while hot and cold dispensers deliver water at hot and chilled temperatures. There are also all-inclusive combinations of the three water temperature delivery options (i.e., hot, cook and cold).

Additional features

Water coolers may include additional features to quench your particular thirst, such as the ability to supply sparkling, alkaline, or flavored water. In addition to the traditional and most popular large bottle type water cooler design, you also have the option to choose a point-of-use design or a conversion type which can be converted between a bottle type and point-of-use. Point-of-use units are connected to a pressurized water source with a dedicated water line and filtering system.

ENERGY STAR certified water cooler models are just as energy efficient with, or without these additional features.

Sized to meet your needs

Water coolers come in different capacities enabling you to select the water cooler size to meet your needs. Among the various options for conditioned storage hot and cold as well as hot, cook, and cold-water coolers, there are distinct categories for high-traffic locations like offices or commercial spaces and low-capacity environments like homes or small offices. Look for the “product capacity class” type in the ENERGY STAR Product Finder  details to quickly identify high- and low-capacity water coolers that have earned the ENERGY STAR label.

Find the right water cooler for you

ENERGY STAR helps you make energy decisions that matter.  Find the water cooler that suits your needs in the ENERGY STAR Product Finder. Search models based on the type of cooler, brand name, water source, capacity, or even refrigerant type. You can also compare the energy performance of each ENERGY STAR model and use this information to determine potential operating energy costs and savings.

The Bottom Line - ENERGY STAR certified water coolers save

ENERGY STAR certified water coolers are approximately 22% more energy efficient than standard models and can save you more than $95 in energy costs over the life of the unit.  If all water cooler purchases in the U.S. were ENERGY STAR certified, we would collectively save $250 million each year, and prevent more than 4.5 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.