Guide
How a chilled water tap works, and what it needs under the sink
A chilled water tap looks like any other kitchen tap. Everything that makes the water cold happens in the cabinet below it. This guide follows the water from the mains to the glass, and lists what the kitchen has to provide for it.
The short answer
A chilled water tap is a kitchen tap with its own chilled waterway, fed by a small refrigerated machine under the sink. Mains water passes through a filter, into a cold reservoir inside the machine, and is kept cold until you open the tap. The tap does no cooling itself; it only delivers water the machine has already chilled.
The system
Three parts, one glass of water
The tap. A boiling and chilled kitchen tap carries four separate waterways through one body: boiling, chilled, and the normal hot and cold you already have. They never mix inside the tap. The chilled and boiling controls are separate from the mixer lever, and the boiling control uses a child-safe cartridge that returns to closed on its own.
The chilled machine. A compact refrigeration unit that sits in the cabinet. It holds a small reservoir of water, 2 or 4 litres depending on the model, and keeps it cold. It uses R600a, a hydrocarbon refrigerant with a very low global-warming potential.
The filter stage. Filters the water on its way to the chilled machine and the boiling tank. It does not touch the normal hot and cold supply.
A boiling and chilled kitchen also has the boiling machine in the same cabinet, so in total there are three units under the sink, not one appliance. See how the three fit a cabinet.
The route
From the mains to the glass
- 1
Mains cold
Water leaves your existing cold isolating valve. One branch goes straight up to the tap as normal cold water.
- 2
Filter stage
The other branch goes down into the filter housing. From here on, the water is filtered.
- 3
Chilled machine
Filtered water enters the machine and fills a cold reservoir, where it is held cold until it is needed.
- 4
Non-return valve
On the way back up, a non-return valve stops chilled water flowing back into the machine or the supply.
- 5
Tap outlet
Turn the chilled control and the water already waiting in the reservoir is pushed out through its own channel in the tap.
Because the reservoir is already cold, the first glass comes out chilled. What the reservoir size decides is how many glasses you can draw in a row before the machine needs time to bring fresh water down to temperature again. A 4-litre reservoir suits a household that fills bottles or jugs; a 2-litre reservoir takes less cabinet space.
The cooling
It works like a small fridge
The machine does not make cold. It moves heat. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the water in the reservoir, a compressor carries that heat to a condenser, and the condenser releases it into the air around the machine. It is the same cycle as the fridge in your kitchen, at a much smaller scale.
Two practical things follow from that. First, the machine runs on and off through the day to hold its temperature, so it needs a permanent power supply. Second, the heat it takes out of the water has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is your sink cabinet. A machine wedged tight into a corner has nowhere to shed it. Our cabinet layout leaves a working gap on every side for airflow and pipe runs.
The words
Chilled, cold, and cold filtered are three different things
Cold
Normal mains cold water from the mixer lever. Not filtered, not refrigerated.
Cold filtered
Filtered, but not refrigerated. It runs at whatever temperature the supply is, which in summer is not very cold.
Chilled
Filtered and held in a refrigerated reservoir. This is what needs the machine.
The labels get mixed up in product listings. If you want cold water from the tap in July, the word to look for is chilled. For the record: our boiling and chilled configuration gives filtered boiling and filtered chilled water, plus unfiltered normal hot and cold. It does not have a separate outlet for filtered water at room temperature.
The checklist
What the kitchen has to provide
Space
The chilled machine is the largest unit in the cabinet at 440 × 188 × 306.2 mm. Together with the boiling machine and the filter it needs more width than a standard sink base gives. The full arithmetic is on the under-counter page.
Power
Two powered machines: the boiling machine at 1500 W and the chilled machine at 120 to 170 W. Each needs its own power point within reach. Have a qualified electrician confirm the supply; never run an extension lead in a cabinet that holds water pipes.
Water pressure
The system is specified for a mains inlet pressure of 1.5 to 5 bar. Some older gravity-fed homes sit below that, so check before the fitting day, not on it.
Airflow
The machine gives off the heat it takes out of the water. Leave room around it rather than wedging it into a corner.
Filter access
The filter is changed every 3 to 6 months or every 2000 litres, and needs 230 mm of clear space below it to swap the cartridge.
Full figures, model by model, are on the specifications page.
Questions
Questions people ask
Does a chilled water tap need electricity?
Yes. The tap itself has no power, but the chilled machine under the sink is a small refrigeration unit and runs on mains electricity, drawing 120 to 170 W depending on the model. A boiling and chilled system has two powered machines, so plan for two power points in the cabinet.
Is the chilled water filtered?
Yes. In our boiling and chilled configuration, cold mains water passes through the filter stage before it reaches either the chilled machine or the boiling tank. The normal hot and cold water from the mixer lever is not filtered: it comes straight from your existing supply, as it does today.
Is chilled water the same as cold filtered water?
No. Cold filtered water is mains water that has been filtered but not refrigerated, so it runs at whatever temperature the supply is. Chilled water has been through a refrigerated reservoir. Our main configuration gives chilled and boiling filtered water; it does not have a separate outlet for filtered water at room temperature.
Can I add chilled water to a tap I already have?
Only if the tap body has a chilled waterway. Chilled water needs its own channel and outlet through the tap, so a tap built for boiling and normal hot and cold cannot deliver it. In our range, model 14001 carries boiling, chilled and normal hot and cold.
Will the machine warm up the cabinet?
It releases heat into the cabinet, the way the back of a fridge warms the air around it. That is why the machines should not be packed tight against each other or the cabinet sides. Our cabinet layout allows a working gap at every side for airflow and pipe runs.
We do not quote a single headline figure for the delivered temperature or running noise. Both vary by model and by how the cabinet is laid out, and we confirm them in writing for the model you specify.
For homeowners
Have it fitted by someone local
We make the tap and the machines. Fitting is done by an authorised installation partner in your area, who checks the cabinet, the power and the pressure before anything is ordered.
Find an installerKitchen fitter or retailer?
Ask for drawings, the model-by-model specification and trade terms. We reply by email.
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