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In any workplace, it’s important that the whole team keeps hydrated. It's important that drinking water is supplied efficiently and safely. And it’s important, in any workplace, that the environment is comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.  Aesthetics to meet efficiency Now, it's quite possible to have one without the other – to choose efficiency over aesthetics; or vice versa. But there’s actually no need to sacrifice style for pragmatism, or to reduce efficiency for the sake of keeping up appearances. You can have it all. A boiling- and chilled-water dispenser can provide hundreds of cups of boiling and chilled water every hour, cutting down on waiting time and contributing to a plastic-free workplace. And the suave simplicity of an Aqua illi tap or the elegant minimalism of an Aqua Alto tap will add style, in abundance, to the office environment. At Aqua Libra Co, we use this equation: Aesthetics + efficiency = optimum productivity Pure water: no more limescale Limescale is one of the main issues surrounding the supply of drinking water. The build-up of calcium carbonate and other minerals on the linings of pipes and appliances looks and tastes unpleasant, and it can cause damage to the equipment. Because our patented water purifier is an integral component of illi and Alto taps, the water they dispense is 100% pure and free of limescale. Trustpilot reviews reflect customers’ opinions about limescale – or rather, the absence of it – in Aqua Libra Co water dispensers: “The units have purifiers on that totally eliminate limescale.” (Mr Foster, who has 20 units installed) “We have never seen any limescale.” (Lee) “[The taps] stopped all our limescale issues.” (David, who has over 100 units installed) Design Excellence Aqua illi is the highest-performing tap on the market, capable of dispensing up to 300 servings of boiling water, or 600 servings of chilled water, per hour. Built in modular form, Aqua illi is economically adaptable. When your organisation grows, you can add modules and features to your Aqua illi unit to match the needs of your team. The Aqua illi tap is a very popular choice in offices and in the hospitality industry, but the corporate world doesn’t have a monopoly on this little gem. Householders are also leaving reviews on Trustpilot: “The Aqua illi hot and cold tap is a really fantastic product and so easy to use. I have thrown away my kettle and now enjoy instant boiling PURE water.” (Carol) “The product has transformed our kitchen.” (Andrew) “It is a joy to use.” (Mary) Pantone Colour Match “Colour has always been an integral part of how a culture expresses the attitudes and emotions of the times.” (Pantone LLC) The colour of your Aqua Alto Tap can be matched to any of the 1000+ colours in the Pantone Matching System (PMS). So, whatever shades feature in your corporate colour palette, they can be reproduced in your office hydration system. The Aqua Alto Tap unit can feed a boiling-water tap, chilled-water tap, and sparkling-water tap. Three separate taps running off one unit. This means that three servings of drinking water can be dispensed at one time, cutting down even further on queueing. But even better than that, your three taps can be three different colours! How about choosing colours from your brand’s logo … or colours to match the office décor. To place your business right at the cutting edge of fashion, why not choose Pantone’s stunning Colour of the Year for 2021 – AI Aqua. Amazing We think the last word should go to Carol, from her Trustpilot review: “However did I live before this product? It is amazing.”

In its 2020 annual report, Zenith Global – world-leading consultants to the food and drink industry – revealed that UK water-dispenser sales had increased for the seventh consecutive year. At the end of 2019, there were 870,600 units installed in the UK – an increase of more than 100,000 since December 2014. The report shows that 40% (348,240) of the UK’s water dispensers are bottle-fed units, and 60% (522,360) are mains fed. Of the mains-fed units, just under 37% (191,532) are integrated tap systems. So, what does the future look like for water dispensers? And what are the main factors driving the growing demand for mains-fed hydration systems?   Environmental consciousness Many studies have been undertaken to determine the environmental impact of plastic water bottles. Conclusions vary widely, but reasonable averages can be extracted. In a 2019 UK survey by INCPEN (Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), the focus was on “citizens’ attitudes and behaviours relating to food waste, packaging, and plastic packaging”. More than half of the respondents said they’d become more concerned about food packaging over the past year. Concerns included: impact on oceans and marine life (66%), waste packaging going to landfill (61%), difficulty/impossibility of recycling (58%), and contribution to climate change (41%). Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of, and concerned about, plastic’s detrimental effect on the environment. A mains-fed integrated tap system can potentially eliminate the use of disposable plastic. Take, for instance, Aqua illi – the highest performing tap on the market today – or the innovative Aqua Alto, available in any colour. These water systems can dispense upward of 300 cups (the equivalent of 75 litres) of chilled water – still or sparkling – per hour. If that 75 litres of water were packaged in 500ml bottles (i.e. 150 bottles), the total plastic would weigh approximately 1,500g, representing 4,500g of CO2 emissions. The total volume of water consumed during the production and transportation of these 150 bottles would be 225 litres. According to a 2019 article by Forbes, millennials (or Gen Y) are loyal to companies that care about their effect on society. This generational cohort (people born between 1981 and 2000) make up approximately 50% of today’s workforce, and their values are helping to guide organisations towards sustainable development goals. “Refillability has become an important feature of the dispense market over the last two years.” (Richard Hall, Chairman and founder of Zenith Global) Health consciousness In its 2020 Health and Wellbeing at Work survey report, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that organisations who ran a wellbeing programme were seeing improvement in employee morale and engagement – as well as a drop in sickness absence and increase in staff retention. There’s certainly evidence that a health-conscious generation of 20-40-year-olds (millennials) is shaping a culture of general wellbeing, which is having a huge impact on corporate productivity. The Millennials and Wellness report by American flavour manufacturer, Fona International, reveals that this generation takes a holistic approach to wellness. The focus has shifted away from fad diets and self-denial towards moderation, appreciation for quality, and care of the whole self, including mental health and hydration. Regular hydration is one of the most important factors in maintaining physical and cognitive health. Attractive and accessible hydration stations contribute to a healthy workplace culture, where pure water is a natural part of the working day. Hygiene Consciousness The charismatic American microbiologist, Dr Charles Gerba (“Dr Germ”), has helped to open many eyes to the facts of pathogen life. His studies of office hygiene at the University of Arizona have revealed some interesting information, including that frequently quoted statistic: “a desk space can contain 400 times the number of germs as a toilet seat”. The reason for this fact, of course, is that nobody would dream of not cleaning a toilet seat; it takes a little more imagination to recognise the germ potential of a desk. The bulk of Dr Gerba’s research was conducted before the Coronavirus pandemic, but over the past year, we’ve all become acutely aware of pathogen transmission via shared surfaces, and hygiene has taken on a new significance. Measures adopted in all areas of life to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are possibly here to stay. The global mindset has altered, and technology is supporting our new needs. Let’s think about making hot drinks in the office by boiling a kettle. Somebody picks up the kettle (touchpoint: handle)They fill the kettle from the mains-water tap (touchpoint: tap)They switch the kettle on (touchpoint: switch)That same person will probably make drinks for colleagues to avoid an inconvenient crowd around the kettle (touchpoints: mugs/cups)This process is repeated throughout the day, with several people making contact with touchpoints. Most of these touchpoints can be avoided with an integrated tap dispense system. Capable of dispensing a portion of constantly available hot, purified water in just a few seconds, Aqua Alto and Aqua illi save time and drastically reduce the need to touch shared surfaces. Aqua Touchless goes that step further, with gesture-control technology that allows users to dispense hot water without touching any shared surface at all. Future of office hydration So, what will hydration in the office look like in the next few years? Zenith’s report predicts that the UK water dispenser market will continue to expand and that by 2024, there’ll be almost 950,000 installed dispenser units. A key projection in the report is that, in terms of numbers, mains-fed water dispensers will overtake bottle-fed coolers in 2021. Businesses are seeing the advantages of mains-fed integrated tap systems, which provide safe, economical, easy-to-access hydration. Aqua Libra Co units, which include our own patented twin boiler and Aqua Pure purification system, are housed out of sight in a cupboard no larger than 600mm (w) x 600mm (d) x 900mm (h). A stylish three-in-one tap or a set of individual taps is installed neatly on a worksurface over a flush-fitting, plumbed-to-waste drain. With the potential to dispense hundreds of cups of boiling, chilled, and carbonated water every hour and to cut out disposable plastic in the workplace, water-dispenser units are becoming an integral part of the workplace. We believe that in five years’ time, at least 50% of all UK workplaces will be using a mains-fed integrated tap system.

Limescale certainly causes a lot of problems. It affects the operation and condition of machinery, the quality of water, and the aesthetics of appliances. The sheer number of limescale-removal products on the market today is testament to this common and troublesome side-effect of our water supply. Interiors of washing machines, dishwashers, and pipes can get so badly clogged up with limescale that they cease to work effectively. Water flow is restricted, water pressure is reduced, and in the case of heat-exchanger systems, such as radiators and refrigerators, thermal conductivity is compromised. Limescale from the heating element of a kettle often breaks away to contaminate the boiled water, which is very unpleasant when it turns up at the bottom of your cup of tea or coffee. Our homes and workplaces are populated with appliances and hardware that use, store, and deliver water. And where there’s water, there’s limescale. … Unless you’re using a water-dispenser system from Aqua Libra Co. What is limescale? Limescale is an accumulation of mineral compounds, left behind on hard surfaces after water has evaporated or boiled. In many cases, these surfaces are the interiors of pipes and appliances, and limescale build-up goes undetected until some real damage has been done. Around 68% of the UK’s water supply is sourced from rivers and reservoirs. The rest is extracted from aquifers, which are bodies of underground sedimentary rock that store water. In the UK, a large proportion of this rock is limestone, formed from compressed shell and bone of marine organisms that lived millions of years ago. The rock’s capacity to hold water is its porosity. Fracture porosity refers to the fractures and cracks in the rock, and intergranular porosity refers to the tiny spaces between the grains of stone. The porosity of the rock is calculated by dividing the total volume of the rock by the collective volume of the voids. For example, if the voids within a 60m3 volume of limestone total 3m3, the rock’s porosity is 1/20 (5%). Limestone is made up largely of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Magnesium and sulphur also make an appearance in our water supply, and so does iron, in various forms – most commonly iron monoxide (FeO), haematite (Fe2O3), and magnetite (Fe3O4). The presence of iron gives limescale a reddish-brown colour. Calcium carbonate An unusual characteristic of calcium carbonate is that it becomes more soluble in water as the temperature decreases. The hotter the water, the less soluble the calcium carbonate becomes. Which means, of course, that whereas some mineral deposits will be dissolved by very hot water, calcium carbonate will remain intact. Carbon dioxide also has an effect on the solubility of CaCO3. When calcium carbonate reacts with carbon dioxide, calcium hydrogen carbonate (Ca(HCO3)2) is formed. More commonly known as calcium bicarbonate, Ca(HCO3)2 is much more soluble than calcium carbonate. In the natural environment, dissolved carbon dioxide gas in rainwater reacts with calcium carbonate to form the more soluble compound, calcium hydrogen carbonate. Over millennia, this material dissolves, causing gradual but continuous reshaping of the landscape. Descaling agents Calcium carbonate is best treated with an acid; for example, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, acetic acid, or citric acid. Hydrochloric acid (HCl(aq)) is a solution of hydrogen chloride and water, and it’s the main component of the gastric juice of mammals. The reaction between hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate produces: water; carbon dioxide; and calcium chloride (CaCl2), which is a highly soluble salt. Acetic acid (C2H4O2) is the main ingredient of vinegar, made by bacteria of the genus Acetobacter. With a plentiful supply of oxygen, the bacteria convert ethanol (C2H6O) to acetic acid and water: C2H6O + O2 = C2H4O2 + H2O Formic acid (CH2O2) occurs naturally in the trichomes (hairs) of stinging nettles. It’s also found in ants. Formic acid is named from the Latin word for ‘ant’ – formica. Citric acid (C6H8O7) occurs naturally in some fruits (citrus fruits), for example, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and limes. All of these acids are effective limescale removers. In fact, washing windows with vinegar or squeezing lemon juice onto taps are traditional methods of dealing with limescale in the home. What if there are no minerals in the water? If there are no minerals at all in a water supply, there’s no limescale. No limescale means that water systems and machinery remain in better working order. And systems that are in good working order require less attention. The Aqua Pure purification system eliminates all impurities from the water supply. This means that the drinking water you get from an Aqua Libra tap is totally free from waterborne bacteria and viruses and from all traces of minerals and plastic particles. It’s 100% pure water; H2O and nothing more. How can you tell when water is pure? When it doesn’t conduct electricity. It’s the dissolved solids in water that conduct an electrical current – not the water molecules. So, if all impurities are removed from water, it won’t conduct electricity. This is how we test our water purifiers at Aqua Libra Co. Why pure water? Mineral water is not bad for your health. In fact, traces of calcium in drinking water can be beneficial for bones and teeth. However, there’s very little calcium in mains water, and the benefits are minimal. The effect that limescale has on your appliances, though, is a lot more significant. Small amounts of calcium carbonate deposited on the insides of pipes and on heating elements soon mount up to a destructive coat of mineral armour that shortens the working life of your machines and contaminates your drinking water with scaly residue. When machines start to slow down, callouts become more frequent. Service and maintenance costs rise. Energy consumption increases. There's another reason for drinking purified water, and it’s at the very core of our mission to deliver the best hydration experience. Pure water tastes wonderful. Contact us for information about Aqua Libra water-dispenser systems.