Best Boilers 2017
The important thing to note when selecting a boiler, is that it’s not just about the product. It is about the the entire ecosystem ie the company that makes it, the availability of parts, the reliability, usability, customer service, etc. Also important is the controls that are available for these boilers. For a boiler to be considered a best boiler to buy in 2017 we have to break this page down into sections. This article will be divided into sections.
Let’s Begin…..
There are many manufacturers and brands of boilers. For this article we will select 5 well known manufacturers and 5 lesser known innovative manufacturers. We will give you a brief intro to the brands including their pros and cons and they will be listed in no particular order.
Vaillant Group.
Are one of the market leaders in the UK. They have  brands contained within the group. Vaillant, Saunier Duval, AWB, Bulex, Glow-worm, Hermann Saunier Duval, Protherm and DemirDöküm. The most popular in the UK are Vaillant and Glow-worm. The Vaillant is the premium brand, so we will discuss this more here.
Vaillant has a high market share throughout london as well as availability throughout the UK. It’s boilers are assembled in the UK in derby however most components are made in Germany.
- Pros
- Local rate support numbers.
- Good call centre
- Engineer friendly boilers
- Well designed interfaces
- Extensive guarantees upto 10 years
- Cons
- Frequent F75 problems with Vaillant boilers
- Ecotec heat exchangers not so forgiving on systems with moderate amounts of sludge.
- No OpenTherm support in UK
Worcester Bosch
The parent company is German however it’s origins are UK. These boilers are made in the UK at worcestershire. Worcester bosch has Royal Charter approval. London has high usage of Worcester Boilers and high usage throughout the UK. Similar sales levels to Vaillant.
- Pros
- High Customer Service levels
- UK wide availability of boilers and parts.
- Royal Charter
- Cons
- Does not support OpenTherm
- Inconsistent interfaces.
- Too many model variations
Baxi Group
- Pros
- Guarantees upto 10 years on select models
- Cons
- Does not support OpenTherm
- Average Reliability
Viessmann
- Pros
- High quality heat exchangers with large pathways
- OpenTherm support
- Upto 10 years warranty
- High reliability
- Cons
- Medium market share
- Basic engineer interfaces
Ideal Boilers
Manufacturers it’s boilers in the UK. Now manufacturers on behalf of other brands, such as Keston, Zanussi Boilers,
- Pros
- New simplified designs
- Support OpenTherm in new range of boilers
- Upto 10 years warranty
- Cons
- Average reliability
Intergas Heating
- Pros
- Highly Innovative technology with high energy savings and reliability
- Remotely Monitered Boiler Range
- Supports OpenTherm
- Upto 10 years warranty
- Cons
- Fast growing company lacking resources similar to bigger companies
- Lack of engineers
- Low part availability but growing (offset by high reliability and simplified design)
Vokera
- Pros
- OpenTherm Support
- Cons
- Average reliability
- Customer service levels below average
- New models don’t have a switched live.
Atag Heating
- Pros
- OpenTherm Support
- Cons
- Average reliability
- Customer service levels below average
- New models don’t have a switched live.
APPENDIX
Our best boiler Selection process
As a minimum standard to make it into our Best Boilers 2017 list we require the following attributes to be met. These attributes are quite stringent, however these attributes ensure the home owner achieves a good and efficient boiler at the minimum:
- Criteria for boiler selection for homeowners.
- Warranty minimum 5 years.
- Modulating / OpenTherm Controls are available (see the new BoilerPlus Standards)
- Ability to range rate the boiler
- Must contain an ERP Pump
- Minimum modulation ration of 5 to 1
RAM
In order to choose the best boilers, we apply an engineering principle one of our clients (a former engineer) taught us whilst installing his boiler. The principle is known as RAM. Each product has a RAM score. The RAM score is made up of a combination of three system attributes. Sometime all three attributes are not necessary for a product to be reliable and good Ie if a product has high reliability and high availability, then maintainability does not need to be high for most applications. RAM attibutes are as follows:
Reliability – A products that has a high statistical result of performing well as intended
Availability – A product or its parts being easily available so that it perform the main use
Maintainability – A product’s ability of being repaired when it fails.
Efficiency
All boilers sold in the European union require an energy label. All boilers now sold in the UK are minimum ‘A’ Rated. Some boilers are however more efficient in there long term running even in this category. Important to note is the overal system efficiency of the heating system. Please read the article ‘Heating System Efficiency’ to gain insight into what makes a heating system highly efficient.
Limitations of this article:
We would like to bring to your attention that also we have chosen these boilers on good standards, sometimes the boilers that need to be chosen may be more specialised than any boiler in this list. Therefore in these situations only an experienced heating professional can specify specialist systems. This article is however applicable to the majority of the population even though some home owners/landlords may decide to choose lower quality boilers due to their budgets.