Recommended Combi Boilers

The recommended combi boilers list in this post have been carefully picked by our heating experts with over 40 years experience in heating and plumbing.  Before we go forward, if you haven’t had to change your boiler in the last 20 years, chances are you haven’t had to bother researching combi boilers.  We have done in-depth posts on everything related to combi boilers, and the following posts may be helpful before we delve deeper into recommended combi boilers:

What is a Combi Boiler

How a Combi Boiler Works

If your old, trusted boiler has finally given up after keeping you or your family warm for the last decade or so, now is the best time to replace it.  By switching to a modern condensing combi boiler, you not only get more uniform heating and on-demand hot water, but because of the condensing technology coupled with programmable thermostats and weather compensation, you can save anywhere between £300 to £600 per year on your energy bills, according to the Energy Saving Trust.  To get a free, no obligation online boiler quote within minutes for recommended combi boilers, please enter your postcode below and hit the green button:

Recommended Budget Combi Boilers

1. Baxi 100 Combi Range

Baxi’s 100 combi range of boilers are straightforward to install, maintain and service, easy to use, and light on your pocket.

2. Vokera Easi-Heat Plus

Vokèra are known in the UK and Irish markets as a trusted affordable brand.  It’s also surprisingly energy efficient for a budget boiler.

3. Ferroli Modena HE

Ferroli isn’t a boiler brand that is synonymous with reliability or high efficiency.  They have positioned themselves as an affordable boiler brand in the UK market.  The reason why the Ferroli Modena HE makes its way to this list is because of its compactness.  Ferroli claims it can be sited virtually anywhere and because it is lightweight, and installation can be completed by a single installer, saving time compared to other boiler manufacturers saving money for the customer.

We’ve done an extensive post on cheap combi boilers on our blog previously, and whether it’s wise to buy them or not.  To find out which are the cheapest combi boilers in the UK in 2018, please click this link: Cheap Combi Boilers

To get a free, no obligation online boiler quote for affordable combi boilers, please hit the green button below:

Recommended Combi Boilers (Mid Range)

1. Viessmann Vitodens 050-W

Even if Viessmann are competing at this price point, they haven’t skimped on quality.  This is a very good boiler with high energy efficiency and extremely durable internal components, like the patented Inox-Radial Stainless Steel Heat Exchanger (among others), manufactured in-house by Viessmann, one of the reasons they can compete at this price point.  Whereas their rivals source their heat exchangers from a third-party provider.  Winning the “Best Buy UK” award for the second year running in 2018, they are obviously one of the most recommended combi boilers in the UK at the moment.

For a detailed breakdown on why the 050 is a fantastic choice of boiler, watch our video review below:

Helpful Article: Worcester Bosch vs Viessmann

2. Worcester Bosch Greenstar i Range

Worcester Bosch is the market leader in the UK and one of the most recommended combi boilers, which is why they are on this list.  The Greenstar i series is their entry-level option.  Much like Viessmann, they too are high quality, high energy efficiency boilers.  The only reason they are number 2 on this list is that Worcester Bosch have an aluminium heat exchanger inside each boiler range, compared to the stainless steel one in the Viessmann.  Aluminium is less reliable, less durable and more prone to corrosion.  This means while it may be fine for the first couple of years, over time it will start losing efficiency.

Helpful Article: Worcester Bosch vs Vaillant

3. Vaillant ecoTEC Pro Combi

Vaillant is definitely one of the top 3 recommended combi boilers across the UK.  As far as quality and energy efficiency goes, they rival Worcester Bosch and Viessmann.  But for longevity and resistance to corrosion, again, Vaillant lag behind because of their aluminium heat exchanger.  Vaillant uses a stainless steel heat exchanger for their more powerful commercial boiler range, but not for their domestic boilers.  In direct comparison, when it comes to aluminium vs stainless steel heat exchangers start off at the same efficiency.  In fact, aluminium is lightweight and has high thermal conductivity initially.  But it drops off over time as you can see in the heat exchanger performance analysis diagram below:

4. Ideal Logic+ Combi

Ideal is one of the most well-known brands in the UK for central heating.  In fact, you will find Ideal boilers in most rented homes in the UK.  It may also be one of the most recommended combi boilers by plumbers in the UK.  Having said that, we do get a lot of customers complaining about their existing Ideal boilers.  Or even installers saying they are very unreliable boilers.  They have recently overhauled their boiler range and included extended 10-12-year-old warranties on their Vogue and Logic range of combi boilers.  Their top of the line boilers is not that far away, price-wise, from Viessmann, Worcester Bosch or Vaillant.  While their new range is yet to be tested over the long term, their track record doesn’t look that great.

5. Baxi 200 Combi Range

Much like Ideal and Potterton, Baxi has become a well-known name in the central heating arena.  Famous for their back boilers in the 70s, they have been left behind a bit today but compared to other boiler brands, and especially if you are on a budget, a Baxi 200 combi boiler range won’t cost you too much money upfront.

Recommended Combi Boilers (High End)

1. Viessmann Vitodens 100-W

This boiler slots nicely at the top of the list of the high end boilers.  We’ve done a comprehensive review on this boiler on our website earlier.  To read it in its entirety, please click the following link: Viessmann Vitodens 100-W Review.  This goes up to 94% energy efficiency, has a modulating MatriX Structure Cylinder Burner and the same patented Inox-Radial Stainless Steel Heat Exchanger that is in every Viessmann boiler.  It also has a touchscreen LCD display.

2. Worcester Bosch Greenstar CDi Classic

This is Worcester Bosch’s flagship boiler range.  Solid, high efficiency, easy to install, and known for being good boilers all across the UK.  Whichever boiler you choose from the top 3 in any category of recommended combi boilers, you really can’t go wrong with a Worcester Bosch combi boiler.  It’s also the most expensive boiler among the top 3.  Worcester Bosch is the market leader, and will leverage its market standing and brand reputation to charge more money.  However other lesser-known recommended combi boilers may be better value for money.

3. Vaillant ecoTEC Exclusive with Green iQ Combi

Vaillant’s premium boiler boasting high energy efficiency and reliability.  This comes in large sizes, 35kW and 43kW, definitely one of the most expensive boilers here.  The only reason it’s not in the Premium A+ section below is that it doesn’t achieve the same energy efficiency as the 200-W.  It also doesn’t have a stainless steel heat exchanger.

Recommended Storage Combi Boilers

If you’ve got a slightly larger property with 2 bathrooms which a regular combi boiler may struggle with, fortunately in 2018 you’ve got storage combi boilers.  These are combi boilers with in-built thermal stores.  We’ve done a detailed post on the topic with all the relevant information and boiler recommendations which you can read by clicking the following link: Storage Combi Boiler

We install storage combi boilers all over the UK.  If you would like a free, no-obligation quote within minutes for a storage combi boiler, please enter your postcode below and hit the green button:

Recommended Combi Boilers (Premium)

1. Viessmann Vitodens 200-W

When money is no object, this is by far one of the most powerful and energy-efficient recommended combi boilers available in the UK since 2017.  There hasn’t been anything else to rival this boiler’s whopping 98% efficiency (100% with weather compensation!).  There’s nothing else quite like it as far as wall-mounted recommended combi boilers go.  It’s got all the best bits from the more affordable Viessmann models, but on top of that, it’s got the future-proof Lambda Pro Control Combustion Controller.  It’s also probably one of the prettier and more technologically advanced boilers with a 5-inch colour touchscreen.  Furthermore, it adapts to different gas qualities automatically, so there is no need for an LPG conversion kit.

As we mentioned above, its whopping 98% energy efficiency out of the box makes this one of THE most energy efficient boilers in the UK.  The icing on the cake; it’s also the quietest boiler available in the UK market.