Boiler 12 April 2023

How to Choose the Right Gas Boiler for Your Home

When it comes to choosing the right gas boiler for your home, there are several factors to consider. The right boiler will not only provide efficient heating and hot water, but also save you money on energy bills in the long run. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

Fuel Type

Most homes we work in around Tonbridge run on mains natural gas. Out in the villages, plenty of properties are off the gas grid and run on LPG or oil instead, which changes what you can fit. If you are not sure which you have, look at whether you have a gas meter or a tank in the garden.

Boiler Size

This is where most bad advice starts. Bigger is not better: an oversized boiler short-cycles, wearing itself out and wasting gas. We size on the actual heat loss of your property and the number of bathrooms you need to serve at once, not on a rule of thumb about square footage.

Efficiency Ratings

Look for the ErP rating on the boiler’s label — in the UK, every new boiler sold has to be A-rated for heating, so the more useful comparison between models is the flow rate for hot water and how well the boiler modulates down when demand is low. A boiler that can turn itself down gently wastes less than one that only knows full blast and off.

Brand Reputation

We fit Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal, Baxi and Viessmann. All of them make boilers we are happy to put our name to, and the honest difference between them is often less about the box on the wall and more about how well it was fitted and whether parts are easy to get hold of when something needs replacing in eight years’ time.

Warranty

Check two things: how long it runs for, and what you have to do to keep it valid. Most manufacturers require the boiler to be fitted and registered by an approved installer and serviced every year, without fail. Miss a service and you can find the warranty has quietly lapsed at exactly the moment you need it.

Combi, System or Regular?

Before you get to brands, settle this. A combi heats water on demand with no cylinder and no loft tank — the simplest choice for a flat or a smaller house with one bathroom. A system boiler heats a stored cylinder, so several taps can run at once without the flow dropping away; the trade-off is that you need cupboard space. A regular boiler needs both a cylinder and a cold tank in the loft, and these days we mostly encounter them when replacing like for like in older properties.

Households with two bathrooms are the ones who most often get this wrong. A powerful combi looks like it solves the problem on paper, but if two showers run together you will feel it. If simultaneous hot water matters to you, say so early — it changes the answer.

What We Look At Before Recommending Anything

When we come out to quote, we are not just measuring the gap on the wall. We check the gas supply and whether the existing pipe can carry the demand of a new boiler, the condition of your radiators and pipework, where the flue can legally terminate, and whether the system is sludged enough to need a power flush before anything new goes on it.

That last one matters more than people expect. Putting a new boiler onto a dirty system is the quickest way to block a heat exchanger and void the warranty, so if we think a flush is needed we will tell you at quote stage rather than after the fact.

Getting a Quote From Us

Every new boiler installation we do is quoted free of charge, in writing, at a fixed price — after we have seen the property, never over the phone. That price covers the boiler, the labour and the materials, and it does not move once the work starts. We are Gas Safe registered under number 951167, and our workmanship carries a 12-month guarantee on installations (90 days on repairs) on top of the manufacturer’s warranty on the boiler itself.

To arrange a survey, call 01732 792 454 or request a callback and we will ring you back. If you would rather look at what else we do first, our services page covers the lot.