R
Ray Stafford
Installer’s voice – the national domestic gas boiler survey 2017
What have nearly 600 engineers got to say about the boilers they work on every day?
Whenever 2 engineers get together down the pub for a pint, or indeed log onto an online forum, they will invariably discuss the various merits of the boilers they work on. Some will be extremely loyal to one brand – others will fit whatever the consumer wants, or what’s on offer at their local merchant. This is often cause for a wonderfully heated debate, although there is rarely any resolution. Having heard these ‘discussions’ at the trade counter and been guilty of getting out the popcorn when ‘it’s going off on Facebook’, we decided to try and find the definitive answer to the question – “What’s the best domestic gas boiler available on the UK market?”.
Williams & Co launched this comprehensive survey in September 2016. There were some initial qualifying questions (how many boilers do you fit, how much influence do you have and so on). The survey was in 5 sections, with questions about the manufacturers support and service, including technical helplines. There are then in-depth questions about combis, regular and system boilers. In these sections, respondents were asked their opinions about ease of installation, build quality, how easy the boiler was to service and some further questions about spares. The engineers had to have worked on the boiler over the last 12 months. A final question asked what they would say to the MD of a manufacturer if they had his ear.
The real value of the survey however, is when we asked the installer which boiler manufacturer they would recommend for 3 different budgets (small, medium and money no object), and for combi, regular and system boilers. These are the findings, with nearly 600 verified Gas Safe Registered engineers giving freely of their expertise and insights from working on them.
Full results now available here
What have nearly 600 engineers got to say about the boilers they work on every day?
Whenever 2 engineers get together down the pub for a pint, or indeed log onto an online forum, they will invariably discuss the various merits of the boilers they work on. Some will be extremely loyal to one brand – others will fit whatever the consumer wants, or what’s on offer at their local merchant. This is often cause for a wonderfully heated debate, although there is rarely any resolution. Having heard these ‘discussions’ at the trade counter and been guilty of getting out the popcorn when ‘it’s going off on Facebook’, we decided to try and find the definitive answer to the question – “What’s the best domestic gas boiler available on the UK market?”.
Williams & Co launched this comprehensive survey in September 2016. There were some initial qualifying questions (how many boilers do you fit, how much influence do you have and so on). The survey was in 5 sections, with questions about the manufacturers support and service, including technical helplines. There are then in-depth questions about combis, regular and system boilers. In these sections, respondents were asked their opinions about ease of installation, build quality, how easy the boiler was to service and some further questions about spares. The engineers had to have worked on the boiler over the last 12 months. A final question asked what they would say to the MD of a manufacturer if they had his ear.
The real value of the survey however, is when we asked the installer which boiler manufacturer they would recommend for 3 different budgets (small, medium and money no object), and for combi, regular and system boilers. These are the findings, with nearly 600 verified Gas Safe Registered engineers giving freely of their expertise and insights from working on them.
Full results now available here
