ATAG Boiler –Reviews, Prices, Warranty And The Best Alternatives
If you’ve been looking for a new boiler, one of the lesser known brands worth a mention is ATAG Heating. So, below we’ll cover the ATAG boiler range, discuss ATAG boiler reviews, the warranty on offer, expected installation prices, and all the best alternatives.
Are ATAG Boilers Any Good?
ATAG aren’t one of the most well known boiler brands in the UK. We’ve listed some of the most popular boiler makes here, which include the likes of Worcester Bosch, Baxi, Vaillant and Ideal.
But, that’s not to say they’re not any good. ATAG have been designing and producing quality boilers for around 70 years. Nowadays, they’re using stainless steel and brass for most components, which tends to make for a much more reliable appliance.
Alongside that, the boilers they produce are some of the most energy efficient in Europe. And, that means not only low heating bills, but low emissions too. In fact, ATAG’s warranties — which stretch to an unbelievable 14 years, if installed by an accredited ATAG installer — indicate that the company has tonnes of faith in their product.
ATAG Boiler Reviews
Unfortunately, you’ll not find the volume of ATAG boiler reviews as you would for other boiler brands.
That said, there are still some ATAG boiler reviews out there — we’d suggest heading over to Trust Pilot to give them a read. As you can see, there are over 3,900 customer reviews, with most being positive, and averaging a strong 4.8/5 stars.
One thing you’ll notice when reading the ATAG boiler reviews on Trust Pilot, is that it’s not just the quality of the boilers people are happy with — the customer service gets plenty of praise, too. And that can’t be said for all boiler manufacturers.
Which ATAG Boiler Do You Need?
Most manufacturers — including ATAG — will have their range split into three boiler types: combi, system, and regular. To determine which replacement boiler you need, you can read this guide covering the different types of gas boilers. However, we’ll briefly walk you through the available types below:
Combi Boilers — Great for Smaller Households
This is the most popular boiler type for small-to-medium sized properties. Combi boilers work without hot water cylinders or a cold water feeder tank — their heat exchanger produces hot water on demand whenever you turn on your taps or call for central heating.
Combis are a great option if you’ve got modest demand for hot water. If your household consumes lots of hot water, on the other hand, a combi boiler may not suffice. That’s because a combi relies on mains water pressure, so if you ever run multiple taps or showers at the same time, it simply won’t be able to supply enough water.
Not sure if you’ve got a combi at home? It’s simple enough to find out — if there’s no hot water or feeder tank in the loft, then you have a combination boiler. Replacing it with another combi (like ATAG’s iC Economiser range) is the cheapest way to go.
System Boilers — Good Choice for High Hot Water Demand
A system boiler differs from a combi because it heats water that’s stored in a hot water tank. This way, you always have a large volume of water at your disposal, regardless of the mains pressure.
If you’ve got a hot water cylinder at home, but no feeder tank, then your existing boiler is a “system boiler.” In this case, you’ve got two options — you can get a brand-new system boiler (for example, from ATAG System iS range), or convert your central heating setup to accommodate a combi. The conversion would involve removing the hot water cylinder, so you’d definitely save some space this way; however, don’t forget that combi boilers have their limitations, especially if you’ve got robust demand for hot water.
Regular Boilers — Traditional Setup With Hot Water and Feeder Tanks
A regular boiler works much like a system boiler, but the hot water cylinder gets filled from a cold water storage tank rather than from the mains. So, if you’ve got water tanks up in the loft, and a hot water storage cylinder, you can be sure that your existing boiler is a “regular” boier.
Now, regular boilers, aka conventional boilers or heat-only boilers are workhorses left over from older days. But that’s not to say that you should always replace a regular boiler with a system or a combi.
If the existing setup works for you (surely you get all the hot water you need at a decent pressure), then you can go ahead and find a brand-new, condensing, efficient regular boiler — like any of the models from the ATAG Regular iR range.
However, you should know that converting a regular boiler to a combi will save you LOTS of space. Gone will be the cold water feeder tanks, and you’ll no longer need a hot water cylinder. A tiny combi will do all the work on its own, you’ll just have to be content with a reduced water pressure in your showers and taps. If you live alone, or your household’s hot water demand is reasonably modest, then this shouldn’t be a problem.
ATAG Combi Boiler Range
We’ll focus on the combi boiler range from ATAG for now, but many factors mentioned below apply to both the system and regular boilers that we’ve mentioned above. Just remember the essential differences, like the presence of hot and cold water storage with system and regular boiler systems. Also, don’t forget that combis tend to provide lower water pressure.
The most popular model in the ATAG combi boiler range is the iC Economiser Plus.
ATAG Boiler Size
There are three sizes on offer in the iC Economiser Plus Range:
- 27kW — ATAG iC27
- 35kW — ATAG iC35
- 39kW — ATAG iC39
The 27kW is better suited for small-to-medium-sized properties, whereas the 35kW model is solely designed for medium sized properties. And finally, the 39kW iC39 is what you’ll want in a large home with high demand for hot water.
However, if your property is extremely large, with lots of radiators, and you often run multiple taps and showers at the same time, you might need a system boiler instead of a combi.
ATAG Boiler Features
ATAG boilers come with a range of handy features. These include:
iCon Heat Exchanger
According to ATAG, thier unique iCon heat exchanger doesn’t lose its efficiency over time. In fact, it retains an efficiency of 98% as time goes by. This is quite an accomplishment — heat exchangers are typically subjected to intense heat, constant pressure, limescale buildup, and other punishing conditions that wear them out quickly.
So, should we take ATAG’s word for it and believe them that their heat exchanger is really made to last? Well, we don’t have to — ATAG guarantees this part with a LIFETIME guarantee. That’s good news, because new heat exchangers typically cost an arm and a leg — £500+.
Weather Compensator
The weather compensator allows an ATAG boiler to adjust its output based on the current weather conditions. In theory, at least, this should boost the boiler’s efficiency and reflect in a slight drop in your energy bills over time. Many, though not all, boiler models have this feature.
Detailed Fault Codes
On their LCD displays, ATAG boiles from the Economiser series show you detailed fault codes. This is a huge deal, as instead of browsing the web for a seemingly meaningless error code, you can instantly know what is wrong with your boiler and get appropriate help from qualified heating engineers.
Compact Dimensions
Boilers in ATAG’s iC Economiser range are all compact, measuring only 700 x 440 x 366. This means you can easily fit one of these boilers into a kitchen cupboard.
Smartphone Controls
You can install the ATAG ONE app on your smartphone and use to control your boiler remotely. Alternatively, you can hook up your boiler to the tado° smart thermostat.
Frost Protection
All condensing boilers have an Achilles’ Heel — their condensate pipe. This pipe drains the condensate liquid the boiler produces to a special drain just outside the building. In colder winter months, these pipes often freeze, create a blockage, and stop the condensate liquid from escaping.
When a boiler’s frozen condensate pipe no longer lets the liquid flow, the boiler typicaly responds by shutting down. If this happens to you (on the coldest of days, mind you), you’ll have to go outside and thaw out the pipe manually by running warm water over it. Then, you’ll have to hope that the pipe doesn’t freeze again, leading to another blockage and boiler lockout.
This is why ATAG now equips their boiler with a frost protection mechanism, which helps you avoid the scenario described above.
ATAG Boiler Warranty
One thing we like about ATAG boilers is their warranty. As standard, all ATAG boilers come with a massive 10-year warranty, whilst the iC Economiser range is covered for 14 years if you use an ATAG-accredited installer.
On top of that, all ATAG boilers have a heat exchanger with a lifetime replacement guarantee. In comparison, you’ll see lesser boilers being offered with 2 years and in some instances, even 1 year!
Our opinion is this — if a manufacturer could afford to offer a warranty that’s longer than 2 years, they most likely would. If they don’t have confidence in their product’s longevity, then neither do we. As a minimum, we’d recommend a 5-year warranty when investing the kind of cash a boiler installation demands; ATAG surpasses this benchmark by a considerable margin.
On a side note, the 10-year warranty is comparable to what you’ll get with a Worcester Bosch boiler when installed by Heatable, so that’s another brand worth comparing with ATAG. You can check prices for Worcester boilers here.
ATAG Boiler Energy Efficiency
Most people purchase their new boiler with warranty and price in mind, which is fair.
But one other thing worth noting is the energy efficiency you get from different boiler models; and, ATAG heating are up there with the best.
In fact, ATAG are actually better than most when it comes to efficiency. All modern boilers will use a flue gas recovery system, which recycles waste gases into energy, and therefore heat. But, models like the ATAG Economiser recovery this energy twice, which naturally means that efficiency is improved.
All ATAG boiler models are A-rated, meaning you’ll instantly save cash on your energy bills compared with an older boiler that’s not A-rated. According to the Energy Saving Trust, that could be as much as £840 per year. Considering most boiler finance companies offer deals from around £25 per month, it could mean that a new boiler pays for itself — and then some.
That said, you’ll get similar energy efficiency from a new Worcester boiler, and you can check prices for those here (all boiler quotes you’ll see include installation by a Gas Safe registered engineer).
ATAG Boiler Prices
ATAG boilers provide plenty of power to your central heating system, and more than enough hot water. Their efficiency is top-notch, and their warranties are outstanding.
So, the remaining the question is this: how do ATAG boiler prices stack up against other leading brands?
This is the only negative when it comes to ATAG boilers — getting an ATAG boiler installed is not as cheap as you might think. In fact, they’re comparable to the likes of Worcester, Vaillant, Baxi, and Ideal.
Mostly, this is because they’re not in high demand, so plumbing merchants don’t often stock them; they’ll order one for you, and it’ll cost them more. At the plumbing merchant where I worked, we didn’t sell a single ATAG boiler in 2 years, but sold 1,000s of Worcester/Ideal boilers over the same period.
So, unless you find an installer that fits them in volume and buys them wholesale, you’ll probably get another leading brand for the same price or less.
Typically, this means paying around £2,000-£2,100 for a 27kW iC27 Economiser — about the same price you’d pay to get a brand-new Worcester Bosch Greenstar 4000 installed with a 10 year warranty.
ATAG vs Worcester Bosch Boilers
So, should you install a new ATAG boiler, or go for another leading brand, such as Worcester Bosch, Ideal, Baxi, or Vaillant?
There certainly isn’t anything wrong with ATAG boilers. In fact, in terms of warranty, customer support, and efficiency, they’re up there with the best.
But, when there are brands with a much bigger reputation at the same price, Worcester and the likes is where I’d be putting my money.
As an example in terms of prices, you’ll see using this quick on-screen multiple choice form, you can get a Worcester Bosch or Ideal gas boiler for the same price as an ATAG equivalent. That said, it’s entirely a matter of preference; again, ATAG are a great boiler manufacturer and their appliances have excellent build quality.
What’s Next?
Thanks for reading our guide to ATAG boiler review. Have you ever used an ATAG boiler? If you have, or if you’ve got any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.