Kuwait's water is unusual, and that changes how you should choose a boiling water tap for an office. The supply is mostly desalinated seawater blended with a little brackish groundwater, it is only moderately hard on average, and it is often stored in tanks that sit in some of the hottest rooftop conditions in the world. This guide is for office managers, facilities teams and fit-out contractors in Kuwait City, Salmiya, Hawalli and the business districts who want one plumbed-in tap for hot and chilled water, and want it chosen for Kuwait's conditions.
TL;DR
- For larger Kuwaiti offices that need the most robust option, start with the BRITA Extra C-Tap. RoyalFlow suits smaller commercial pantries.
- In Kuwait, filtration is mainly about taste, chlorine and sediment from stored water, more than heavy limescale.
- Size the tap to the busiest 15 minutes for hot drinks, and check chilled capacity for the summer.
- Confirm the cold feed, power, drain and a ventilated cupboard before you choose a model.
Tell us your headcount and pantry layout. Request a Quote
In this article
- Kuwait's water and what it means for a tap
- The taps we recommend for Kuwaiti offices
- Working out the size you need
- Heat, storage tanks and filters
- What the pantry needs
- Service plan and safe use
- Mistakes to avoid
- Which tap suits which office
- Before you ask for a quote
- Frequently asked questions
Kuwait's water and what it means for a tap
Kuwait has no rivers and very little rain, so most of its drinking water is made by desalinating seawater at large coastal plants. The Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy produces and distributes the supply. Distilled seawater has almost no minerals, so it is blended with brackish groundwater before it is piped to buildings. A 2022 review of Kuwait's water resources describes this blending.
A Kuwait University study of tap water found most minerals within drinking water limits. From the study's average calcium and magnesium, we estimate hardness at about 78 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which the USGS calls moderately hard. Results varied a lot between areas, and chloride was above 200 mg/L in some samples.
For a boiling water tap, this means three things. Limescale is a smaller worry than in very hard-water countries, but it is not zero, so the boiler still needs protecting. Taste and chlorine off-notes from stored water are often what staff notice first. And because water varies by building, the filter should be chosen for your site, not from a general rule.
The taps we recommend for Kuwaiti offices
For larger offices and busy sites, our first choice is the BRITA Extra C-Tap. It is the most robust option we offer. One brushed steel tap gives ambient, chilled still, semi-sparkling, sparkling and hot water up to 95 °C, with anti-scald protection. There are two boiler sizes, rated at 20 or 30 litres an hour, and a chiller rated at 85 litres an hour. BRITA filtration to 0.5 micron is built in and conditions against limescale. Our BRITA Extra C-Tap guide has more detail.
For smaller commercial pantries, the RoyalFlow commercial range gives boiling, chilled and sparkling water from one tap, with a compact unit below the sink. Our guide on which RoyalFlow tap suits your site compares the models.
| Option | Format | Waters | Rated hot or boiling output | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRITA Extra C-Tap | Tap on the counter, unit below | Ambient, chilled still, semi-sparkling, sparkling, hot up to 95 °C | 20 or 30 L an hour | Larger offices, roughly 20 to 100 people |
| RoyalFlow BCS | Tap on the sink, unit below | Boiling, chilled, sparkling | 3 L tank, 125 cups an hour | Smaller commercial pantries |
These ratings are the manufacturers' published figures.
Keep in mind that the BRITA Extra C-Tap gives hot water up to 95 °C rather than a full boil. That is right for tea, coffee and instant food. Where a full boil is needed, the RoyalFlow BCS gives one.
Need help choosing? Request a Quote and send us a photo of the pantry.
Working out the size you need
The busiest 15 minutes decide the size. Count the hot drinks poured in that window, multiply by four to get an hourly figure, and choose a tap rated above it.
Take an office of 30 people that pours 15 hot drinks in its busiest 15 minutes. That is 60 drinks an hour, or about 15 litres of hot water at 250 ml a drink. The BRITA Extra C-Tap with the medium boiler, rated at 20 litres an hour, covers that. A team twice the size would need the large boiler, or two taps.
Check chilled water the same way. In Kuwait's summer, staff refill bottles all day, and the chiller has to keep up.
Heat, storage tanks and filters
Many Kuwaiti buildings store water in ground or roof tanks before it reaches the pantry. In hot months, stored water can lose its residual chlorine, pick up sediment and allow biofilm to grow. Two offices on the same street can have water that tastes quite different for this reason.
A boiling water tap with good filtration helps at the point of use. It reduces chlorine and taste off-notes and catches fine sediment. It does not replace clean tanks, so ask your landlord when the tanks were last cleaned. For more on the local supply, read our guide to whether you can drink tap water in Kuwait.
Heat also affects the equipment. An under-counter chiller needs air to move around it. In a closed cupboard in a warm pantry, it works harder, so ventilation should be part of the plan.
What the pantry needs
Before choosing a model, check for:
- A cold water feed near the tap, with an isolating valve.
- A dedicated, fused power supply close to the unit, rated for the hot model you choose.
- A drain where the model needs one, and a sink or drip tray under the spout.
- A ventilated cupboard for under-counter units.
- Space for a CO2 cylinder if you want sparkling water.
- Access for the engineer at service visits.
Our site survey confirms these before installation. The survey is chargeable.
Service plan and safe use
Agree the service plan at the same time as the tap. It should cover filter changes, a hygiene clean of the spout and checks on hot and chilled temperatures. With stored water, filters may need changing sooner than the calendar suggests. Our maintenance plans cover this, and following the manufacturer's schedule keeps the warranty valid.
In a shared pantry, look for a child lock or push-and-hold hot button, an insulated spout and clearly marked buttons. Fit the tap where people do not have to reach across it.
For more on office drinking water, see our commercial solutions and our comparison of an instant boiling water tap vs a kettle.
Mistakes to avoid
A few choices cause most of the trouble we see with office taps in Kuwait.
- Choosing a filter by habit. Water differs from one building to the next, so a filter picked for very hard water may not suit your site, and one picked for taste alone may not protect the boiler.
- Hiding the chiller in a closed cupboard. In a warm pantry it struggles to keep up in July and August.
- Planning for headcount instead of the peak. A team of 30 that all take a break at the same time needs more than the daily total suggests.
- Leaving tank cleaning to chance. A filter at the tap cannot make up for a rooftop tank that has not been cleaned.
- Treating servicing as optional. Filters past their change date stop doing their job.
- Fitting the tap where people have to reach across it to get to the sink. In a busy pantry, the hot button needs clear space around it.
Which tap suits which office
Both of our office taps sit on the sink, with the boiler and chiller in the cupboard below. Here is how to tell them apart.
The BRITA Extra C-Tap suits you when:
- The pantry serves a bigger team, roughly 20 to 100 people.
- People want a choice of still, semi-sparkling and sparkling water.
- The office drinks a lot of chilled water in July and August. The chiller is rated at 85 litres an hour.
- Hot water up to 95 °C is all you need.
RoyalFlow suits you when:
- The pantry is small, such as a clinic, a showroom or a single office floor.
- Someone needs water at a full boil.
- There is not much room under the sink. The RoyalFlow BCS unit measures 230 × 435 × 395 mm.
If you are between the two, tell us your busiest 15 minutes and we will advise.
Before you ask for a quote
Have these answers ready:
- How many people use the pantry, and how many hot drinks are poured at the busiest time?
- How much chilled water does the team drink in summer?
- Do you need boiling only, or boiling with chilled and sparkling?
- Is there a ventilated cupboard under the sink, with space for the unit?
- Where are the cold feed, power point and drain?
- When were the building's tanks last cleaned?
- How will filter changes be scheduled?
Frequently asked questions
Which boiling water tap is best for a large office in Kuwait?
For larger offices that need the most robust option, we lead with the BRITA Extra C-Tap. It gives five water types, a boiler rated at up to 30 litres an hour and chilled water rated at 85 litres an hour.
Is Kuwait tap water hard enough to damage a boiling tap?
On average it is moderately hard, about 78 mg/L as calcium carbonate by our estimate from Kuwait University data, but it varies by area. Scale is less of a problem than in very hard-water countries, but a filter that conditions against limescale still protects the boiler.
Why does the water from our tap taste different from another office?
Water stored in tanks in Kuwait's heat can lose chlorine and pick up sediment, and the blend varies by area. A filter at the tap reduces taste off-notes, and regular tank cleaning helps at the source.
Can one tap replace the kettle and the water cooler?
Yes. The BRITA Extra C-Tap and the RoyalFlow BCS both give hot and chilled water from one spout.
Talk to Sovereign Water about your office boiling water tap
Send us the number of people who use the pantry, a photo of the space and the location of water and power. We will suggest a tap sized to your peak, with filtration and servicing chosen for your building.
Sources
- Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, Kuwait
- Kuwait University, Journal of Engineering Research, tap water study
- Frontiers in Environmental Science, review of Kuwait's water resources (2022)
- USGS, Hardness of water
- Manufacturer specifications: BRITA Extra C-Tap and RoyalFlow BCS datasheets, via the product pages linked above.