Buying the best boiler for your home can be a tough task, there all sorts of criteria you must take into account. Below are several common questions.

Do I need to buy a new gas boiler?
As of April 2005 all new gas boilers must be over 90% energy efficient. If you own an old G-rated boiler with a seasonal efficiency of less than 70%, your home will benefit from using a new gas boiler which is rated A for energy efficiency. This is because a G-rated boiler only efficiently uses around 70% or less of the energy it produces for the purpose of heating your home or hot water, with the remaining 30% being lost through the flue. Many new high efficiency boilers have well over 90% efficiency, which means less wastage and more money saved on heating bills.

What are my heating and hot water needs?
There are several types of heating boilers such as back boilers which are fitted at the back of gas fires and stoves. These units are becoming rare and have made way for more modern designs. Some of the best boilers around are condensing gas boilers these units are highly energy efficient and have a condensation drain as well as a flue. They are installed with a fully pumped system and are perfect for the more environmentally conscious homeowner. The most popular boilers are combi gas boilers. They provide hot water and heating but not at the same time. They are relatively cheap gas boilers with Baxi and Vaillant offering very affordable high quality models. Combi gas boilers are considered the best boilers for small houses and flats.

What type of boiler do I need?
For the average household with only one bathroom the best boilers are combi gas boilers. They are often small, compact, highly efficient and offer immediate hot water. Combi gas boilers heat water without the need of a tank, so as well as the space saving benefits you are saving money on heating bills because you don’t have to repeatedly heat a huge tank.

Which boiler make and model do I buy?
The most ideal way to find the best boilers is to compare them against one another according to your needs and requirements. You can use Buyability’s boiler comparison table to compare prices and features. Once you have chosen several options you can read some of our boiler reviews. If you are having trouble deciding what kind of system you need you can arrange for a British Gas engineer to visit your home and they will be happy to give you some advice.

Guest Article by Louise Goldstein

Most of the latest boilers on the market today are more energy efficient and compact than they used to be. Nowadays you can buy a combi boiler with a high output which delivers more hot water per minute at a higher temperature than before. This is great if you nice powerful got showers. Ideally making the right decision when choosing your heating system falls under a number of different categories, price, place and requirements.

The best way to come to a decision on price is to first look at what you can afford to pay. If you have some flexibility on price you can base it more on what requirements are important to you. You may want to go for one that has more integrated controls and is much more energy efficient, which over the long term can actually save you a lot of cash. When considering place you may want to install your new system in a more convenient place either because you want to free up space somewhere or to tuck it away out of site. On a different note considering place buying a respected boiler brand can make all the difference. One thing is for certain experiencing years of problems with your heating system is no fun, so always go with a respected brand like Baxi, Worcester or British Gas.

If you have made the choice of boiler for your home heating system, then you can significantly reduce your household’s carbon footprint for years to come. For the rest of us, there is no better time than now to consider upgrading to a newer, greener, high-efficiency unit. The best boilers on the market can pay for themselves over time. A SEDBUK A-rated boiler is over 90% energy efficient. This means less energy is wasted and more is used to heat your home. Given the choice always go with an A-rated boiler. When buying a boiler always consult with a qualified Gas Safe registered boiler engineer. Buying the wrong boiler for your needs could result in a disaster. 

All of these aspects are important when making a decision and will enable you to get the most suitable boiler with the most suitable combination of features and price. Some people might say that it’s just a heating system; you buy it, install it and off you go. However, more often than not there are extra features that you should look out for that add to the whole heating experience. Things like the efficiency of the boiler; how much fuel does it use to keep your house at the required temperature and what other hidden costs could impact your ongoing running expenses. How easy is it going to be to install? How reliable will it be? Always have the boiler installed by a qualified boiler installer and in most cases the installation costs can match or even exceed the cost of unit itself.

Another important point to consider would be the emissions from the boiler. Some of them will have significantly higher emissions than others. This should definitely affect your decision, depending on how “green” you would like your household to be. We all like to do our bit for the environment and if we save a few bob at the same time then all-the-better.

If space is a problem then you’ll have to consider the dimensions of the gas boiler. Luckily some of them will even fit discretely in a kitchen cupboard. The size will also play a part in the installation as well, simply because smaller units like combi’s can be easier to handle, especially if you decide to mount it on a wall. The last thing to consider, and most probably the deciding factor for many, would be the cost of the boiler itself. Once you have gone through the different features and decided which are right for your particular circumstances, you will want to compare boilers from various brands to see which one will give you best value for your money. The best way to do that is to check out our boiler reviews and see for yourself.

The bottom line is that you may be able to find something made by one manufacturer that does not have the same capabilities as another. You might find that a particular brand can offer you the same output as another but it will be a smaller model, saving you money and space. If you keep all this in mind while deciding what to buy, you shouldn’t go wrong when it comes to making your final purchase.