When an office asks about water, there are really two ways to go: a plumbed-in unit, or the water cooler with the big jugs on top. Both work. They just cost you differently, and at different times.

Plumbed-in: more upfront, less ongoing

A plumbed-in unit connects straight to your building's water supply. The catch is the install: a plumber has to route a water line to wherever the unit's going, and that's a real upfront cost. Once it's in, though, there's no jug to order, lift, or swap — the water just comes from the line.

Bottled coolers: cheap to start, simple to run

The bottle units are about as simple as it gets. You plug it in — there's a compressor inside that cools the water — and from there you just replace the jugs as they run out. No plumber, no water line, low cost to get started.

The trade-off

The honest read is that the jugs are cheaper upfront, but over the long run that ongoing jug cost likely adds up to more than the plumbed-in route. Why a given office picks one over the other usually comes down to their upfront budget versus what they're willing to spend over time — and sometimes it's just whichever's easier to get in the door today.

Filtration works with either

One thing worth knowing: both setups can be run with filtration, so you're not choosing between "filtered" and "convenient." You can have filtered water on a plumbed-in line or on a bottle unit. And if you've got a coffee machine on site, the water matters there too — I touched on that in choosing office coffee.

If you're weighing office water — on its own, or bundled with coffee and vending — that's a quick conversation. We're family-owned and Vaughan-based and we handle water filtration across the GTA. Sam answers the phone.