Head-to-Head Underfloor Flow Boiler Comparison: Trianco TRI and Heatrae Sadia Amptec

When it comes to choosing an Underfloor Flow Boiler for your domestic or commercial purposes, there are two clear competitors in the market that we feel offer the same sorts of services and requirements, the Trianco TRI products and the Heatrae Sadia Amptec Products. Today, we shall compare in particular the 6 KiloWatt Underfloor Heating options, to deduce which we feel best suits the particular needs and requirements for your needs.

 

 

Flow Boilers for Underfloor Usage - Trianco Aztec Classic TRI 6  vs Heatrae Sadia Amptec U601 - Underfloor Version

About Trianco Underfloor Flow Boilers

Trianco are a UK Based manufacturer of Water Heating products, with an extensive history dating back to 1850. Over the years, they've aimed to be at the forefront of water heating technologies, the recent movement towards alternative fuel heating sources has encouraged them to create their Aztec range of Electric Boilers. The Classic TRI range is:

"Suitable for any type of property i.e. house, flat, mobile home or apartment." - Trianco

The Trianco Aztec Classic TRI6 is designed to offer 6kW of electrical water heating, the nature of a Flow Boiler creating a separate water circuit to power your central or underfloor heating. These units are assembled in the UK to the highest standards and offer many quality features we shall discuss below.

About Heatrae Sadia Underfloor Flow Boilers

Under the Baxi Group, Heatrae Sadia is one of the UK's foremost electrical water heating manufacturers. Their famous Megaflo range has achieved a level of recognition and user understanding that poses them as the "Hoover" of the Uk market, the term Megaflo being interchangeable with Water Cylinders featuring an inbuilt expansion vessel. The Amptec range is designed to produce quality Flow Boiler central or underfloor heating circuits, and their extensive support team and installer adaptability mean that Amptec:

"is available in a range of kW sizes and is ideal for extensions, loft conversions, conservatories and garages where space is at a premium." - Heatrae Sadia

How do These Flow Boilers Stack up?

  • Efficiency Ratings

This is a measure of each underfloor flow boiler's electrical efficiency, which could be further broken into heat loss efficiency and operational costs. Off the bat this is a dead tie, both brands claim their units to be "99.8%" efficient. This is one of the highest standards in the market and means that very little energy spent heating their water circuits is lost to insulative materials and capabilities. Both brands achieve this rating by using only the highest quality materials, both system's internal components are designed to allow as little heat escape as possible, so for those scared of the transition to stainless steel fear not as nothing can be lost in the transition from old copper systems. The second idea of "efficiency" for the user would likely translate to running costs. Whilst this is largely determined by your individual pricing on electrical bills, we can suggest that the Amptec could be operated at the 30-degree Celsius mark, whereas the TRI can be operated at a minimum of 35 degrees. Whilst this would mean if operating at that 30 degrees the Amptec would likely be "more efficient" (run cheaper) more often than not you'd likely be using 35-40 degree water to operate your average UFH system, meaning the differences are too minute to compare.

  • Item Adaptability

The above point regarding 30 vs 35-degree Celsius also leads us to a major selling point of the Trianco and offers some explanation regarding the temperature difference. The TRI 6 model is capable of servicing standard radiators too, offering hybrid adaptability to central heating offering up to 75-degree water operation compared to the Amptec U601 operating at a maximum of just 60 degrees. This means that the TRI would likely be more suitable for a wider array of requirements, the temperature range is able to cater for both central and underfloor purposes, and the potential for more unique underfloor heating requirements might just be the deciding factor when compared to the U601, which is purpose-built for domestic/light commercial underfloor needs.

  • Pricing

This is a more clear win for the TRI 6 unit here. Comparative, you could look to save around £100 incVat when comparing to the U601 model. As of the time of writing (03.05.23), the unit prices inc vat is £508.80 - TRI6. This is compared to £614.99 - U601. The difference in cost compared to the operating use and power makes the TRI a much more economically sensible purchase, given their minimal efficiency differences. The up-costing in price largely stems from Heatrae Sadia's market dominance, Amptec being the more known name brand option allows firms like this to price up their items by a significant amount.

  • Warranty and Support

Here again, we would argue that the Trianco unit wins out. Both the TRI 6 and the Amptec U601 would be backed by a 2-year comprehensive warranty, we stress requiring competent and qualified installers to ensure these warranties are within terms etc. putting these units at a tie.

*Amendment: The Trianco TRI 6 option can be registered with - Product Registration Form (trianco.co.uk) - this can be used to bolster the warranty up to a 5-year period, making, if registered, the TRI 6 have a considerably longer-lasting warranty.

The support network for Heatrae Sadia may be slightly larger, and more users may have experience with Amptec from an end-user or installers perspective, however, the Trianco team are smaller and more dedicated to providing quality customer support and aftercare. We would argue their dedicated Sheffield-based team likely care more for their users and can offer a more personable discussion without the lengthy hold times you may find on the Heatrae side of things.  Further details of the warranty can be found here for Heatrae and here for Trianco.

Conclusion: Close to Call, but We'd go With the TRI 6

In conclusion, the units are so comparably close that it might be hard to suggest a proper answer as to which one is definitively better. If we were to recommend a suggestion, the Trianco TRI 6  model can offer much the same services as the Amptec U601. The major difference being here that the TRI comes in at a significantly cheaper price point per model.

*Following the above-mentioned amendment, the TRI 6 also proves a longer-term solution, backed with an extendable warranty period of up to 5 years, which makes this product not just cheaper but gives the purchaser longer-term confidence in usage.

We would largely recommend this on a pricing basis, and we feel the small customer-focussed support team's benefits at Trianco would largely offset any perceived negatives when compared to Heatrae Sadia's larger and bulkier support service. Overall though, it's really up to the end user and their requirements, if this hasn't narrowed things down for you enough, please don't hesitate to contact us on 01934 253600 to discuss any further potential requirements. Thank you for reading!