Vaillant ecoTec Pro 30 Combi Boiler – Review

Today we are taking a look at Vaillant’s top 30kW combi boiler, the ecoTec Pro 30. With over a century of experience, Vaillant are at the forefront of developments in boiler technology, with a healthy dose of German engineering to top it all off. If you’re looking for a suitable boiler for a small to mid-sized home with up to three bedrooms and one bathroom with an extra boost of hot water, then the ecoTec Pro 30 could be the boiler for you.

Will the ecoTec Pro 30 be suitable for my home?

Unlike the 24 and 28kW versions of the ecoTec Pro, the ecoTec pro 30 offers both a heating output of 24kw, as well as a 30kW hot water output. The Pro 30 will be more suitable for medium-sized properties with one bathroom and three bedrooms, so you won’t have to wait an extra 10 minutes for your bath to fill up. However, if you’re looking to run a bath and shower at the same time, you will be far better off with a conventional or system boiler. The main factor that decides whether a boiler is suitable for your home is the number of radiators. The ecoTec Pro 30 can supply enough hot water for up to 15 radiators due to its 12.7l/m flow rate.

If you’re looking for an alternative combi boiler that can supply enough hot water for up to 15 radiators, we recommend the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30i. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a more compact boiler, the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30Si is the best fit.

For smaller homes with up to 10 radiators installed, the ecoTec Pro 30 will be too powerful and cause your energy bills to increase. For up to 10 radiators, the Vaillant ecoTec Pro 24 is the best fit.

Controls

The controls on the boiler itself aren’t anything special due to the standard hot water temperature controls and timer. One of the key benefits of the boiler is its fully integrated digital display for pressure levels, fault codes should the boiler need servicing or repair, and the temperature of the hot water in the flow pipes.

Due to the introduction of Boiler Plus in April 2018, all combi, system and conventional gas boilers require time and temperature controls to be installed in the home. Due to this regulation, your old mechanical thermostat may no longer be compliant. The main purpose of Boiler Plus is to improve the energy efficiency of homes nationwide, with more control over our carbon footprint with the appropriate controls installed in all homes.

For combination boiler owners, there are some additional requirements to be compliant with Boiler Plus. Specifically, one out of four additional requirements will need to be met. These are as follows:

• Weather compensation – The ability to alter the water temperature from the boiler based on outdoor temperatures.
• Load compensation – The ability to alter the water temperature from the boiler based on the current room temperature.
• Smart control – A type of control that provides automation and optimisation for your boiler.
• PFGHRD (Passive Flue Gas Heat Recovery Device)

Vaillant also offer both digital/programmable and smart controls. Their mechanical controls let you set 24-hour schedules for your heating, whereas digital controls allow up to 7 days of programming. However, if you’d want to go a step further and fancy smart controls, you should look at the the Vaillant vSMART. This smart thermostat is a highly intelligent and modern device that will give you even more control over your heating. It’s been kept quite simple with regard to its design, but it also offers self-learning features and the ability to set schedules and temperatures straight from the smartphone app. Our vSMART Valliant review can give you more information.

Size

The Vaillant ecoTec Pro 30 is relatively small in size at only 720mmx440mmx340mm, which is quite compact compared to some of its competitors. However, if you are interested in an even smaller combi boiler option, the Vaillant ecoFit Pure 825 may be a good choice, or have a look at the Worcester Bosch Greenstar 25Si Compact.

Warranty

If you decide to install a Vaillant boiler with a Vaillant Advanced Installer, you will benefit from an extended warranty of up to 10 years with your boiler installation. Given that Vaillant currently offer a standard 5-year warranty with this boiler, it’s certainly something you’d want to look at. If you are interested in receiving an extended warranty for your new boiler, we’d be more than happy to help since we’re a proud member of the Vaillant Advanced Installer scheme.

Energy Efficiency

Vaillant have done a great job with the ecoTec Pro 30. The boiler is highly efficient with an A grade for efficiency and an energy efficiency rating of 89.3%. “What exactly does the grade and the percentage mean?”, you may ask. Well, the rating is calculated by the ErP Directive, which actively tests each new boiler and energy product to ensure that they pass certain criteria before they are installed in homes. Each boiler is judged and tested on their performance, carbon footprint and their overall energy efficiency. It’s safe to say that Vaillant can live up to the ecoTec range’s name due to their brilliant efficiency rating. So, if you’d like to make savings on your energy bills, the ecoTec Pro 30 is certainly a great choice.

If you’d like to read more about the ErP Directive, you can check out our article here.

Verdict

The ecoTec Pro 30 is highly efficient and offers great performance across the board. The full ecoTec range has gone on to win awards such as the Which? Best Buy award in 2016, in addition to the Quiet Mark status because of their industry-leading low noise output. With strong heating and hot water output and an impressive flow rate, the ecoTec Pro 30 is a no-brainer for small to mid-sized homes and flats nationwide.

	Vaillant ecoTec Pro 30
ErP rating (energy efficiency)	A (89.3%)
Size (HxWxD in mm)	720x440x330
Heating output (kW)	24.7
How water output (kW)	27.2
Flow rate (litres/min)	12.3
Standard warranty (years)	5 (extended warranties available)
Other available sizes (kW)	24, 28

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 30 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 30 Combi boiler manual