Is my office suitable for an office coffee machine or water dispenser?

It’s a fair question. Nobody wants to invest in a machine only to discover it doesn’t fit, can’t be installed, or won’t keep up with the team’s needs. The good news? With a few quick checks, you’ll know whether your office is ready.

1. Do you have the space?

Commercial coffee machines and water dispensers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are counter-top (as is the case for most office coffee machines) and some are floor standing (like your W range or your bottle-fed coolers).

You should think about where you would want your coffee and/or water to live. Do you have a centralised kitchen or breakout space, or do you have multiple small points dotted around the office?

Either way, you should make sure there aren’t any major obstacles. For example, let’s say you wanted your office coffee machine to be on the kitchen counter. But let’s also say there is a row of cabinets above the counter. You may have to think about either choosing a different location or taking the cabinets out. Either way, it’s not a dealbreaker for your workspace, it just requires a bit of planning.

2. Do you have mains access?

This can be a scary roadblock for some facilities managers, but it’s simpler than you’d think.

Your office coffee machine will need to serve many coffees a day, so a tank fed model might not be able to keep up. Having mains water plumbed into the machine is the ideal setup.

Make sure you know where your water pipe connections are. Your coffee machine supplier will need to know this ahead of your installation. The engineer will be able to extend pipes to get water to your machine, but they will need to know in advance so that they can bring the right tools.

2.5 (For larger models) Can you add drainage?

For high capacity coffee machines, you will need plumbed-in drainage in order to prevent overflow. Similarly to water, an engineer can add connections to connect your coffee machine to drainage.

3. What’s the water pressure?

This is also worth knowing, especially if you want a water dispenser. Different makes and models work best with certain water pressure. We have an article breaking down the three main tap brand’s ideal water pressure.

4. Do you have enough power?

Commercial coffee machines usually require at least one 13A socket. High-spec machines with add-ons can require as many as four.

It is very easy to have extra sockets put in, and worth the investment for great office coffee. Your socket will need to be within an extension-leads-distance of where you want your coffee machine.

5. What are your counters made of?

Sounds weird, but stay with me. Let’s say you are installing a shiny new boiling water tap into your counter… Unfortunately, you’re going to have to cut into your countertops to enable the font to sit flush with your counter. If you are choosing countertop coffee or water, this will be unavoidable.

You should let your supplier know what material your counters are made of so that they know which tools to bring.

What next?

After running through these checks, you’ll have a good idea if your office could support a coffee machine or water dispenser. But for certainty, a site survey is the next step.

Site surveys are audits carried out to establish where and how your coffee or water dispenser will be installed.

At FreshGround, our site surveys are flexible and customer-focused. One of our engineers will visit in person to inspect an office space, plumbing, power, and countertops. Or if the customer is short on time, a project manager can guide them through the same process over the phone.

This ensures there are no surprises during installation. The right location, water connections, drainage, and power setup are all confirmed upfront, making sure your office coffee or water system is installed quickly and efficiently.