With energy prices set to increase, condensing boilers are an energy efficient option.
Heating your home, particularly during the colder winter months, can make up more than half of your energy bills. Choosing an efficient boiler will make sure you get maximum heat from the energy you use. You will also reduce your heating bills and carbon emissions.
Boiler efficiency
Condensing boilers are the most energy efficient type and can be 25% more efficient than non-condensing boilers. If you have an older non-condensing boiler, replacing it with a new condensing boiler, programmer, room thermostats, and thermostatic radiator controls could save you between £45 to £300 a year.
Since 2007, except for exceptional circumstances, the Building Regulations require all new domestic boilers to be high-efficiency condensing boilers. There are several different types:
Combi boilers – this type of boiler heats water when you need it, which is good for smaller homes.
Heat-only boilers – with this type of boiler you will have a cold water feed and a tank where hot water can be stored for later use. This will suit larger properties.
System boilers – this boiler type has more built-in components so it is smaller and a cold water feed isn’t needed.
Boiler size
your property in terms of heat output, measured in kilowatts (kW). Boilers with high heat output use more energy when they are running.
Larger homes with plenty of radiators and two, three or four bathrooms will need a boiler with a larger heat output than a smaller property or flat for example. However, if your boiler has more heat output than you need you will be using more energy and spending more money than necessary.
Once you know which type and size of boiler you want, you can use the manufacturer’s information about energy efficiency ratings to decide which will be the best choice for your property.
The ErP energy rating
Since 2015 modern boilers have been rated for efficiency as 'Energy-related Products' or ErPs. After leaving the European Union, the UK government has taken on responsibility for the rating. Boiler efficiency is rated from A+++ to F, with A ratings being the most efficient.
Combi boilers have two ratings for space-heating and water heating. Space-heating is how efficiently your boiler heats your radiators and water heating is the efficiency of heating your hot water for baths, showers, and taps. You will see a rating for each under the symbols for radiators and taps on your boiler label.
The ErP label shows how much noise your boiler makes in decibels (dB); the higher the number the louder your boiler will be when operating. It also shows the boiler’s heating output in kW which should be rated at least A. The ErP efficiency ratings for any boiler you are considering will also be shown in the manufacturer’s specifications.
In 2018, the UK government introduced 'Boiler Plus' legislation which requires all new boilers in England to be A rated, with a minimum ErP efficiency of 92%.
You might also see references to Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers (SEDBUK) which is a rating system used to compare how efficiently boilers convert fuel into heat. These ratings also use letters but are worked out in a different way to ErP. They can be helpful to understand which boilers heat your water most efficiently and how they perform in winter, for example.
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