When your old boiler needs replacing, you will face a choice between many competing brands.

The good news is that all boilers installed today will meet high energy efficiency ratings.

But which are the best and worst boiler brands? We find out below.

Which is the Best Boiler Brand for My Central Heating?

Upgrading your old G-rated boiler for a more fuel efficient A-rated boiler can save you up to £235 per year in energy costs.

The modern eco-friendly boilers are so energy efficient that you will significantly reduce fuel bills compared to an older boiler.

All new boilers installed in the UK must be A-rated energy efficient boilers to help reduce the impact of CO2 emissions from the nations heating requirements.

Which type of boiler is right for my home?

The most common type of new boiler installation in the home is a condensing boiler. These energy efficient boilers use a significant amount of energy produced which would have gone to waste in older boiler types.

Condensing boilers are the preferred boiler type for any homes which are connected to the mains gas supply and use this as their main energy source.

Some homes still rely on oil-powered boilers however and these properties will be limited to oil only boilers.

Which Boiler Brand is the Most Reliable?

According to a recent survey of over 3,000 boiler owners by Which?, they found the following results for the leading brands of boilers:

• Vaillant and Worcester Bosch were reported to be the most dependable manufacturers of boilers. They both received a satisfaction rating of 83%.
• Only 29% of customers reported problems with a Vaillant boiler and 32% of Worcester Bosch owners reported problems.
• British boiler manufacturer Potterton also provided good value for money according to customers, scoring a satisfaction score of 73% with 38% of owners experiencing problems.
• The lowest ranking boiler manufacturer for customers polled by Which? was Keston. Only 47% of Keston boiler owners reported satisfaction with their purchase whilst 79% had reported issues with performance within the first four years.
• Other poor performing boiler brands included Halstead and Ideal. 53% of Halstead boiler owners reported faults within the first four years. Only 64% of those questioned were pleased with the Ideal boiler brand.

Combi boilers

Combination or Combi boilers are able to heat your hot water and provide central heating without the need for an additional hot water cylinder.

Baxi Duo-tec Combi 28 HE (gas combi) beat the brand leaders Vaillant and Worcester Bosch for the most reliable combi boiler on the market.

The customers providing information to Which? gave the Baxi Duo-tec Combi 28 HE a reliability score of 79% and the model won Boiler of the Year at the Corgi awards for the heating industry in 2008.

The latest update of this model is the Baxi Platinum Combi HE A

As the most reliable boiler brand overall, a Vaillant boiler is also worth considering as your choice of combi boiler.

Vaillant’s ecoTEC plus range (gas combi) offers an easy to use and energy efficient boiler system suitable for different types of homes as it is available in a range of sizes.

Heat-only boilers

Heat only boilers are convenient for households which only require hot water for the radiators. These boilers require additional space to fit in a a hot water cylinder and a cold water cistern.

The most energy efficient and reliable heat only boiler according to the Which? report was theGlow-Worm Ultracom 24 hxi (heat-only) . Glow-Worm scored a brand satisfaction rating of 73%.

Oil boilers

For the 1.5 million homes in the UK which are not connected to the mains gas, an oil boiler is the most convenient option.

Oil boilers are available as a heat-only or a combi condensing style boiler.

The Grant Vortex Pro Combi 26 ( oil combination) was recommended as the most reliable and energy efficient oil combination boilers available offering 91.8% energy efficiency.

Still confused about choosing a boiler for your central heating?

Discover more about the best boiler for you. We have created a detailed article: Which is the best boiler to buy for my house?