Not so.My partner is a plumber, and when asked how much was saved in labor by using PEX over copper he replied "Tons, and we make sure the homeowner never sees a penny of it!" Not to minimize the cost advantage, though copper is falling like all of the other commodities.
My boiler is a Viessmann vitodens 100.They are not cheap, but I am happy with it.After WW2, the U.S moved away from boilers in favor of furnaces.In Europe, they continued to work with boilers almost exclusively, so they have a huge head start.
edit: That's partner in the business sense, by the way!