Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 Combi Boiler – Review

Vaillant was founded in Germany in 1874 and is currently Europe’s second largest boiler manufacturer. They are renowned for their development of environmentally friendly products, with innovations in quiet-design features. Today we are going to take a look at the ecoTec Pro 24, which is said to be a direct competitor to another hugely successful boiler, the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 25i.

Will the ecoTec Pro 24 be suitable for my home?

The Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 is recommended for houses or flats which have up to 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The boiler offers a central heating output of 18.9kW, which will be enough to cater for smaller properties. However, if you do have more than one bathroom, you may be better off with a system or regular boiler to prevent any pressure drops.

Controls

Out of the box, the ecoTec Pro 24 comes with an on-board display and standard set of controls. The display indicates whether the heating or hot water is in use, which is partnered with a temperature reading for the water in its flow pipes, filling pressure levels and fault codes should a fault be discovered. The controls allow you to access the menu, as well as switch the boiler on and off or increase and decrease the temperature.

Vaillant offer mechanical and digital controls to give you control of your water temperature scheduling. With mechanical controls, you can set a schedule over a 24-hour period, but with digital controls, you will get up to 7 days of programming.

You also have the option of Vaillant’s own smart thermostat, the vSMART. The vSMART is Vaillant’s answer to the modern use of smart technology to control your boiler. Its display is quite simple and only displays temperatures. However, once you download the Vaillant app, you are transported in to a whole new way of setting temperatures and schedules. The vSMART is a self-learning device, so once you tell the device your preferred heating settings, it will learn your habits over time and alter your settings on a day-to-day basis.

Size

The boiler comes in at quite a compact size (720mmx440mmx338mm). However, it’s not quite compact enough for a standard kitchen cupboard. If you are tight for space, it might be worth considering a more compact option. If you’re looking for a smaller boiler, we recommend the Vaillant ecoFit Pure 825 or the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 25Si Compact.

Warranty

Vaillant offer a standard 5-year warranty with this boiler. However, if you have your boiler installed by a Vaillant Advanced installer (which we are), you will benefit from an extended warranty of up to 10 years for an extra charge.

Energy Efficiency

Vaillant can safely back up the ecoTec name with their high efficiency grade awarded under the ErP (Energy related Product) directive. It is 89.3% energy efficient, which is an A grade.

Thanks to the ErP directive, each product is tested to see if it passes certain criteria based on their energy-efficiency. For example, how the design of the boiler has been improved to lower carbon footprint and decrease the amount of wasted energy. You can read more about the ErP Directive here.

Verdict

Overall, the Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 combi boiler is a great choice if you are looking for a smaller, high-efficiency boiler that can pack a punch. Despite only being suitable for smaller homes and flats, the central heating output and hot water flowrate are a perfect match. The ecoTec range has gone on to win the Which? Best Buy award in 2016, as well as being awarded Quiet Mark status due its low noise output.

	Vaillant ecoTEC Pro 24
ErP rating (energy efficiency)	A (89.3%)
Size (HxWxD in mm)	720x440x330
Heating output (kW)	18.9
How water output (kW)	23.4
Flow rate (litres/min)	9.6
Standard warranty (years)	5 (extended warranties available)
Other available sizes (kW)	28, 30

Which? boiler review

The consumer group Which? review each boiler on the market to find the most (and least) reliable boilers according to a survey completed by thousands of boiler owners. In each review, Which? supply a brand score percentage and star ratings for each category. Take a look at the Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 ratings below:

Which? Score
Efficiency rating	★★★★★
Brand reliability	★★★★☆
Brand customer score	★★★★★
Ease of repair	★★★★★
Ease of service	★★★★★
Availability of parts and spares	★★★★★
Build quality	★★★★★
Engineer recommendation	★★★★★
Brand score	80%

Boiler manual

Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 Combi boiler manual