• DIY
• Kitchens
• My House

Update your kitchen with an instant boiling water tap

We are still in full house renovation swing! I had an electrician, joiner and decorator here as there is not one room in the house that is complete! I won’t deny that designing your own house can cause a heap of stress and anxiety so you have to look out for small pleasures. And I’m here to reveal one small element that is giving me so much joy! And it’s a tap! Not just any tap mind you. Just before Christmas, we installed a Franke  Omni 4 in 1 tap. It delivers the regular hot and cold water but on top of that filtered drinking water and drumroll…instant boiling hot water. It’s a game changer.

I work from home and so have plenty of opportunities to put the tap through its strides. During these cold winter months, I sustain myself on cup after cup of hot drinks. Hot lemon and ginger on getting up, a strong coffee is my treat after the school run before I set down to work, then its a mixture of favourite herbal teas throughout the day. It also supplies bubbling hot water to quickly boil eggs for breakfast, pasta for supper or steam veg in an instant. As anyone who follows the podcast knows, I’m not a fan of cooking, so the quicker I can get the job done, the better!

So how do they work?

Most types have an insulated, compact tank hidden in a cabinet underneath which heats and stores the hot water. The Omni has a 4.2 litre capacity, which is around 8 mugs of hot drinks or 2 pans of water. If used in one go and the tank is emptied it takes around 10 minutes to replenish the near-boiling water. I know this as we had around 50 people for a new years bonfire party and it managed to keep everyone topped up with hot drinks all day.

My Franke 4 in 1 Omni tap in black delivers 100°C boiling water in an instant

Are the days of the kitchen kettle numbered?

Although the initial cost of an instant boiling tap seems eye-wateringly high, coming in at just over £1000, in the long term they are considered to be more energy efficient. The boiling water tank uses an average of 10p of electricity per day and the average cost to boil a kettle is 2.5p each time you boil it,  and you won’t get an energy surge as you would a kettle. And I also use my tap to supply boiling water for cooking rather than waiting for water to boil on my electric hob.

It’s a well-documented fact that most people overfill a kettle and boil far more water than is needed, wasting energy and time, and research is also showing that by continually re-boiling the same water you risk concentrating certain undesirable chemicals that may be in your water.

Another downside for the well-loved kettle is the steam – over time it could cause condensation damage to kitchen cabinets – especially if placed under wall hung storage.

Pros

• Safety – all instant boiling taps feature a must-have safety mechanism plus there’s no loose electrical cable that can get caught, and no chance of spilling boiling water over hands.
  
• Energy efficient
• Not just convenient for hot drinks – faster cooking and prep
• Helps create less clutter on the worktop, so aesthetically great for small kitchens
• Filtered water on tap, so again no water filter jugs cluttering the worktop.
• Saves time. Working from home I love my cups of tea throughout the day and I love not having to wait for the kettle to boil!
• Easy installation, virtually no tools and minimal plumbing skills are required for installation, although I did get my plumber to fit it, which I recommend.
• The Omni tap is easy to fit to a standard 35mm sink hole

Some things to consider…..

• Even though it’s great for saving space on the worktop you will need space underneath to house the tank and filter system.
• You need to be aware of your water pressure – if you have low pressure you may need a pump, or for high pressure, you may need a reducing valve.
• The initial cost, installation and maintenance may not be the most cost-effective option for those households who don’t go through large amounts of boiling water.

The Franke Omni boiling water tank and filter system need a certain amount of storage close to the tap.

I chose the latest finish which is a sleek black and it’s gorgeous, and I think this will be the new kitchen tap favourite finish, superceding our current obsession for brass. However, I also opted for it as it complimented the rest of my kitchen colour scheme and the dark black gunmetal handles on my units. From a designers point of view, I’m particularly impressed that the Omni 4-in-1 tap comes in these five finishes so they’ll be something to suit any kitchen design perfectly. Set inside my double ceramic sink it really is quite a style statement centre stage in my kitchen, so it is important it looks perfect.

The Omni 4-in-1 finishes from left, gold, gunmetal, stainless steel, copper and black

For more details on the Omni tap, you can read more on the Franke website here.