There are many benefits of having chilled filtered and sparkling water on tap at home. Having an easy access, endless and convenient supply can increase the ease and likelihood of reaching daily hydration goals.
Studies have linked adequate hydration, and particularly sparkling water consumption, to a host of health benefits, such as:
Other benefits of having your very own supply of clean, chilled still and/or sparkling water at home are:
In Australia, there are 3 main manufacturers of filtered and sparkling water taps
For the purpose of this article we’ll try and compare apples with apples, so we’ll be looking at taps that dispense chilled filtered still and chilled filtered sparkling water. We will ignore boiling water taps and cover the pros and cons of boiling water taps elsewhere.
We’ll also compare the ‘residential’ range of products these manufacturers offer rather than their ‘commercial’ range, if applicable.
The prices we found below were straight from the manufacturers websites and there may be better deals from resellers available. We didn’t look at energy consumption as specifications weren’t available from all manufacturers.
A sparkling water tap system usually consists of a dispenser tap, under-bench carbonation & refrigeration module, filter system, co2 bottle and regulator.
By far the largest manufacturer of the 3 brands, Zip has a history stretching back to 1947 when it began as a water heater manufacturer.
These days, it is owned by US corporate giant Culligan International Group which reportedly paid around $550 million for it in 2017.
Zip has a range of taps including all in one taps that dispense:
Zips all in one range consists of the Celsius Arc and the new Celsius Plus (the latter has a pull out sprayer)
Celsius Arc $5495 – $5995 depending on finish selection.
New Celsius Plus $8695 -$9795 Note – this version appears to only be sold through selected retailers and not directly from the Zip website. The price we found was from Google shopping and appears to include the boiling water function as mandatory.
Zip also have a range of 2 in 1 taps which generally are fitted alongside your main kitchen tap as they don’t dispense regular tap water, but dispense:
There are several 2 in 1 tap designs to choose from such as the Arc, Classic Plus, Cube Plus and Elite Plus with pricing between the models very consistent. During price checking we found that all Zip 2 in 1 tap models were priced at between $4995 to $5495 depending on the finish chosen.
Formerly also owned by Culligan International Group (the same owner as Zip), Billi was sold to Strix Group Plcx, based in the UK.
Billi’s range of residential sparkling water taps is limited to just one model, the Home CS (B3000).
The Home CS comes in one shape and has a choice of chrome, brushed and Matt black finishes. It dispenses:
Billi have no “all in one” option so you can’t replace your kitchen tap with one, the Home CS is designed to work alongside and in addition to it.
Billi’s offerings appear to be simpler than some of the other manufacturers with no LED lighting, touch screens or electronic tap interface. Some may find this as a positive whilst others may like to have a bit more bling!
$3,277 – $3,301 depending on finish chosen
Australian family owned and operated.
Sodatap have two distinct models:
$1899 – $1980 depending on finish chosen
$1799 – $1880 depending on finish chosen
It’s best practice to not only compare purchase costs, but also ongoing costs for consumables like Co2 and filters.
Price doesn’t always reflect quality as other factors such as overheads and retail sales margins must be factored in. Ensure you choose a sparkling water system that fits in with your budget, personal tastes and preferences.
