A new boiler is one of the most expensive household purchases you’re likely to make and therefore making the right choice is essential.
Ideally, a new boiler should last at least ten years, have a long warranty and be highly-efficient.
There are many brands of boilers available on the market, also offering various models depending on the hot water demands of your property.
Due to a competitive market, there can be an overwhelming level of choice and therefore this article will assist with some insight into what to consider when purchasing a new boiler.
Table of Contents
Best boiler brands/makes
There are many boiler brands on the market, selling an array of products. The top three boiler brands have been selected on the following criteria:
- The warranty period offered by the manufacturer.
- The brand’s reputation.
- Customer reviews.
- Brands that receive the most industry awards.
- Customer service performance.
- Price range, and therefore value for money.
- Efficiency ratings.
#1 Worcester Bosch boilers (best boiler manufacturer)
This is a very well-known and long-established brand and is often considered the best within the boiler industry. Worcester Bosch offers a wide selection of boilers for most types such as; oil, combi-boilers, system boilers as well as regular boilers.
Worcester excels both by offering long warranties, typically between 5 and 10 years as well as providing a high standard of aftercare to its customers.
However, the higher quality product and customer service by Worcester Bosch also increase the price tag of their boilers. Typically, a Worcester Bosch boiler costs between £1,900 to £2,600 including fitting, which is considerably more than cheaper alternatives.
Are they worth it? We certainly think so.
Worcester Bosch boiler summary:
- 10-year guarantee (not just a warranty)
- Which? Best Buy Winner for 10 consecutive years
- Trustpilot score? 4.6 out of 5
#2 Viessmann boilers (second best boiler make)
Viessmann is a German company that is often considered the dominator within the European boiler manufacturer industry.
Viessmann’s high-quality products have entered the UK market, building the company a strong reputation here whilst also collecting many industry awards along the way.
Viessmann boilers repeatedly achieve high energy efficiency ratings as well as being trusted for their reliability.
Viessmann offers a range of boilers, however, they offer slightly more cost-effective options than Worcester Bosch, with the range costing between £1,670 and £2,295.
Similarly, to Worcester Bosch, a 10-year warranty is offered as well as other tempting elements such as prompt installation service and interest-free finance to spread the costs.
Viessmann boiler summary:
- 10-year warranty (not quite a guarantee).
- Stainless steel heat exchangers, not just aluminium commonly used inside most other boiler brands.
- Trustpilot score? 4.6 out of 5.
#3 Alpha boilers (third best boiler brand)
Alpha Boilers are often considered a budget brand however the company have built a strong reputation.
Alpha is popular with landlords and property developers due to the cheaper prices, which range is priced between £530 and £2,500.
However, with Alpha, the slightly cheaper costs do not result with compromising on warranties and quality, for example, most Alpha boilers still feature a stainless steel heat exchanger. Aftercare is also rated highly as well as boiler efficiency and reliability.
Alpha’s boiler typically comes with a 7-year warranty although these can sometimes be increased to 10 years with the installation company.
Want to know how much a new boiler may cost? Read our complete guide of Worcester Bosch Boiler Prices and Viessmann Boilers Prices.
Alpha boiler summary:
- Up to 10-year warranty (not quite a guarantee).
- Stainless-steel heat exchanger which is usually something you would only expect in premium brands.
- Trustpilot score? 4.8 out of 5.
#4 Ideal boilers (fourth best boiler make)
Founded in Kingston-upon-hill, Ideal boilers is another old-school British boiler brand renowned for producing high-quality boilers. They offer all types of boilers and prices range from £900 – £3,000.
The brand hasn’t landed any significant consumer or industry awards, but they have built themselves a reputation, especially when it comes to their nationwide network of gas safe engineers and aftercare.
Ideal boilers summary:
- Up to 12-year warranty (MAX accredited installers only).
- Trustpilot score? 4.4 out of 5.
#5 Baxi boilers (fifth best boiler make)
Another iconic name in UK domestic heating is Baxi boilers, founded in Preston, the company is now a household name and is the parent company of Potterton and Assure.
The major advantage of Baxi is the accessibility of parts, their customer service and value for the money price point. Unfortunately, they do offer a lot of boiler models and so this has caused considerable confusion, especially for the everyday consumer.
Baxi boilers summary:
- Up to 10-year warranty.
- Trustpilot score? 4.5 out of 5.
Boiler brands FAQ
Here are some of the most common questions we have received with regards to the best boiler brands:
What boiler brand is most reliable?
In terms of reliability you can get different answers depending who you ask (plumbers included).
Therefore, you can only really use real customer reviews and the annual boiler review by the company Which? to gain areal insight into which boiler brand wins out.
Therefore, basing the most reliable boiler brand from the annual boiler survey, Worcester Bosch holds the current title.
Which boiler brands should you avoid?
In terms of which brand you should avoid, again it’s very speculative, but if you use the annual boiler survey as your yard stick, then Ferroli boiler performed the worst.
Factors to be considered when replacing a boiler
One benefit of choosing a new boiler installation is that modern systems are often more economical and therefore the new investment should result in a decrease in energy bills.
However, when making any expensive purchase, value for money and reliability are always top considerations.
In addition, the quality and duration of a manufacturer warranty will also be of interest, to ensure that the best cover is available.
Recommended reading:
The type of boiler required
There are three common types of boiler to choose from when seeking to install a new boiler, however often the type of boiler will be determined by the property requirements.
The boiler types are as follows:
- Combination boilers
Often referred to as combi-boilers provide both heating and hot water at the point of need without the need for a water tank, which can save both physical spaces as well as energy usage.
Combination boilers are generally most suitable for smaller sized properties depending on the level of usage as the system can enable affected by how many people use the system at the same time.
Another consideration for Covid-boilers is the water pressure requirement.
- Heat-only boilers
This type of boiler provides only heat energy for a property directly to the radiators via the use of a hot water cylinder. A heat-only boiler can work with older style radiators, saving owners of older houses the cost of replacing the whole system.
Therefore, heat only boilers are the most cost-effective to replace, however, it is worth noting that the boiler itself only represents part of the system.
This is also a consideration when obtaining a warranty for a new heat-only boiler, as this would cover the boiler only leaving the other areas of the system unprotected.
- System boilers
A system boiler is a cylinder system that is an integrated, non-open valve system. It is best suited for properties with poor water pressure; however, system boilers are bigger in size than a combination boiler and therefore will require more space.
Boiler sizes – What size boiler do you need?
Boiler size is defined by two elements; the heating and hot water capacities as well as the physical size of the boiler unit.
The boiler size requirements will depend on the property such as how many inhabitants there are and how many bathrooms are in the property.
A heating engineer can advise on the best-suited system for the property requirements. Once the criteria are known, the boiler brands can be explored to enable a purchase.
A summary of the top boiler brands can be found in the next section.
Further reading:
- Boiler installation in the loft.
- What is an eco-friendly boiler?
- Boiler on finance.
- Boiler installation cost calculator.
Best boiler brands summary
The market for new boilers is extensive and competitive, offering an array of boiler products plus other services such as extended warranties, prompt installation and finance options.
There are multiple benefits for installing a new boiler, however, the criteria should be known before rushing into the investment, including the relevant type of boiler that is suitable for the occupant’s needs and property size.
When choosing a boiler brand, a number of elements should be considered in addition to the cost of the boiler such as; quality of the product, efficiency levels, brand reputation, after-sales service and warranty period offered.
