Consumers appreciate independent product comparisons as an aid to their purchase decisions. This applies not only to day-to-day items but also to products with long service lives. If neutral bodies give a product a good rating, that is the best advert of all. For the manufacturers, in turn, it is confirmation of their specialist expertise.

Appliances bearing the Buderus and Junkers brands were recently awarded outstanding ratings, as demonstrated by two tests by Stiftung Warentest (Germany’s consumer testing organisation) and EcoTopTen (an environmental project sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

In the early summer of 2006 Stiftung Warentest compared 11 compact gas condensing boilers ("test" 6/2006), fitted with a modulating burner, weather-dependent control systems and a hot-water storage tank.

Under the title "Wait no longer", the organisation underlined the considerable energy and cost savings achievable when old heating boilers are replaced by modern condensing boilers – enough to ease the pressure on the household budget which is particularly welcome at times of high gas prices.

The product comparison placed the two participating Bosch Thermotechnik brands at the top. Buderus’s Logamax plus GB132 T was highly placed with an overall rating of "GOOD" (1.6). In the Energy Efficiency, Safety and Handling categories it was rated "VERY GOOD", and in Finishing and Environmental Features "GOOD". Snapping at the Logamax’s heels, just one-tenth of a point behind and also with an overall rating of "GOOD", was the Cerasmart Modul from Junkers. The testers gave it a "VERY GOOD" for its Energy Efficiency and Safety and also "GOOD" for Handling, Finishing and Environmental Features.
Installers and end customers ought also to be especially happy about one particular aspect: the installation and operating instructions for both products gained the top rating.

Stiftung Warentest focuses particularly on the quality of the products under test. Environmental and cost aspects are included, but receive only a minor
rating. The state-sponsored EcoTopTen institute, a project of Germany’s Institute for Applied Ecology, on the other hand, concentrates on particularly innovative, ecologically trendsetting products. The focus is on environmental and cost aspects which are given equal weighting.

In the autumn of 2005 EcoTopTen compared modern gas condensing boilers and rated the Junkers Cerasmart condensing appliance as an excellent product in the output categories both for single-family homes (3-16 kilowatts) and for multiple residential units (7-22 kilowatts). The comparative rating included a detailed cost-effectiveness analysis and reported the costs actually incurred for the individual appliances based on the total annual costs. In other words, the rating not only compared the purchase price but also included the consequential costs.
The outcome of the test shows that using a Cerasmart condensing appliance represents a sound investment.