Worcester 8000 life vs Vaillant Ecotec Plus

[securitynewbie]

Hi everyone,

I'm finally replacing my ideal isar boiler, which has given me countless headaches.

My plumber has recommended either a Worcester 8000 life or an Vaillant Ecotec Plus - He said both are really good and reliable.

I would be grateful if you could help answer the following questions:

1. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each boiler?
2. Is one more reliable than the other?
3. Which one is more suitable for smart home systems such as Hive or Google?
4. Which is cheaper to run?

Thanks for your help.

 

[securitynewbie]

Hello...can anyone help?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

3. Which one is more suitable for smart home systems such as Hive or Google?

I would avoid those, if you can, because from what I have read they are basic on/off controls. Better are the fancy manufacturers systems, which are able to directly modulate the boilers output intelligently to match the heat loss / load.

 

[securitynewbie]

Thanks Harry - that's fine, I'll keep that in mind. But what about the choice of boiler from the two?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks Harry - that's fine, I'll keep that in mind. But what about the choice of boiler from the two?

All I can say on that score, is that my Vailant Ecotec Pure has been problem free so far.

 

[securitynewbie]

Thanks....that makes it very difficult as I'm told the Worcester is really good too.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

My choice original decision was between Vaillant and Worcester. I like to know exactly what the boiler is doing, so I plumped for the Vaillant which has a rather good LCD display, as well as a good reputation.

 

[securitynewbie]

From my understanding, reliability wise, both boilers are the top of the game. But I've researched and it seems people complain about vaillant's customer services.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

From my understanding, reliability wise, both boilers are the top of the game. But I've researched and it seems people complain about vaillant's customer services.

Well, I found their technical department not very technically competent, I found better technical answers on here. Other than that - I have had no reason to ring them.

 

[securitynewbie]

Thanks Harry - That's really appreciated. I'm just wondering whether both boiler are on par when it comes to fuel consumption or one is more than the other.

 

[muggles]

Thanks Harry - That's really appreciated. I'm just wondering whether both boiler are on par when it comes to fuel consumption or one is more than the other.

That will depend on which model you go for. As Harry has hinted at though, neither are compatible with third-party modulating controls using technologies such as OpenTherm, so to get the best out of them they need to be fitted with the manufacturers own controls, which are expensive. Hive is only on/off anyway, and Nest can only be used in basic on/off mode with them. Nest does have OpenTherm, so fitting it to an OpenTherm compatible boiler such as Intergas works very well.

 

[Mottie]

I've had a Vaillant Ecotec plus for about three years, no problems so far. My mum has had a Worcester for about 4 years and she’s had no problems either.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks Harry - That's really appreciated. I'm just wondering whether both boiler are on par when it comes to fuel consumption or one is more than the other.

That data is published online, just choose the boiler output size you need, or choose a size to compare from both manufacturers.

An important figure to compare, is the minimum output Kw. The lower it can go, the less on/off cycling once your heat needs are met, the more efficiently it can run most of the time - Hive and Google will not help much with that, there demand is simple on or off. Vaillants own system is able to learn and predict the output you will need and ramp the boiler output down when it gets near your desired temperature.

As a result, I find there is minimal creaking from the pipes, as they have a much more constant temperature of water running through them and the boiler is under less stress from cycling.

 

[securitynewbie]

Thank @muggles, @Mottie and @Harry Bloomfield

Where is the data published? I believe he said either a Vaillant Ecotec Plus (35/38KW) or Worcester 8000 life (35/40KW). Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the Worcester 8000's minimum output is 3.5KW, right? Not sure about the Vaillant though, so any light that can be shed on these two and which one has a better minimum output, then would be greatly appreciated.

My reason for going with Hive/Google was simply that I can control the heating from anywhere, but if there's better then I'm all ears.

 

[sxturbo]

As has been said there much the same. Bosch do have a better service team and after sales support.

Both also have half decent smart controls that do the same as nest and give but more efficiently, and they do add one like smart trv heads, so the system is more like a Honeywell evohome / Drayton wiser system.

Although it's pricier you would be getting much better integration by using the proprietary kit.

Sometimes fitting there own controls increases the warranty and Bosch reckons their smart control increases boiler efficiency by 4%, but I presume the boiler and heating system needs to be setup correctly for this.

Bosch nest equivalent

https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/products/boiler-controls/bosch-easycontrol