Andersen A3 vs Zaptec Go 2: Design Icon or Future-Proof Tech?

The Designer Statement vs the Tech Pioneer

These two chargers come from opposite ends of the EV charging philosophy spectrum. The Andersen A3 is a British-designed, beautifully finished wallbox that treats your charger as part of your home's kerb appeal. The Zaptec Go 2 is a compact Norwegian unit that cares less about how it looks on the wall and more about what it can do in five years' time — including vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology that could eventually let your Tesla power your house.

If you're choosing between these two, you're likely someone who cares about quality and is willing to spend a bit more than the bare minimum. Neither is a budget charger. But the £288 price gap between them buys you very different things: with the Andersen, you're paying for craftsmanship and aesthetics; with the Zaptec, you're paying for future-proofing and connectivity. Let's dig into which one actually deserves a spot on your wall.

In a nutshell:

• Andersen A3 (£995): The best-looking home charger in the UK, with 247 finish combinations, a hidden cable system, and a 7-year warranty — but you're paying a premium for design over software smarts.
• Zaptec Go 2 (£707): The UK's first V2G-ready AC home charger with free 4G connectivity and a MID-approved energy meter — a genuinely future-proofed unit at a more accessible price.

Spec Comparison

Design and Build Quality

This is where the Andersen A3 genuinely stands alone — not just against the Zaptec, but against every home charger on the UK market. With 247 colour and finish combinations spanning anodised aluminium, Accoya wood, and carbon-style trims, the A3 can be matched to virtually any property. As electrifying.com notes, you can even do a paint-to-sample match to tie in with your home's existing colour scheme.

The signature feature is the hidden cable system: the 5.5m tethered lead tucks away inside the unit behind a magnetic lid, with brushes that sweep debris off the cable as you wind it in. An LED illuminates when you lift the lid, so you're not fumbling in the dark on winter evenings. It's a genuinely thoughtful piece of engineering. As carmagazine.co.uk observed, anyone who's handled a wet, muddy cable in their work clothes will appreciate this.

The Zaptec Go 2 takes the opposite approach. At just 240 × 180 × 106mm and 3.2 kg, it's less than half the weight of the Andersen and noticeably more compact — a clean, minimal Scandinavian box that aims to disappear on your wall rather than make a statement. It's perfectly presentable, but nobody is buying it for its looks. If your charger is prominently visible on the front of your house, the Andersen wins this category by a country mile. If it's tucked away in a garage or round the side, the Zaptec's compact footprint is arguably the smarter choice.

Smart Features, Connectivity and Future-Proofing

The Zaptec Go 2 pulls ahead here, and it's not particularly close. The headline feature is V2G readiness — this is the UK's first V2G-ready AC home charger, meaning that when vehicle-to-grid technology matures and your car supports it, you could sell stored energy back to the grid or power your home during peak tariff hours. That's a genuine differentiator, though it's worth noting that V2G is still in its early stages in the UK and may take years to become mainstream.

Beyond V2G, the Zaptec includes subscription-free 4G connectivity, which means it stays online even if your home Wi-Fi drops or your router is too far from the charger — a common issue with garages and driveways at the far end of the house. It also has a MID-approved energy meter for precise billing and energy tracking, and it's OCPP 1.6J compliant, meaning it can work with third-party energy management systems. For anyone thinking about integrating their charger into a broader smart home or energy setup, this matters.

The Andersen A3 covers the essentials — scheduled charging, usage tracking, and smart tariff support for Octopus Intelligent Go and OVO Charge Anytime via the Andersen app. But as heatable.co.uk puts it bluntly, "you're not buying the smartest charger on the market." The A3 is Wi-Fi only, with no 4G fallback and no V2G capability. If you want set-and-forget tariff optimisation that squeezes every penny from your Octopus rates, chargers like the Ohme Home Pro still do it better than either of these units.

Solar Integration

Both chargers support solar integration, but they approach it differently. The Andersen A3 offers solar compatibility via a CT clamp and surplus charging setup through the app — a solid, functional implementation that lets you divert excess solar generation to your car.

The Zaptec Go 2 takes things further with automatic switching between single-phase and three-phase charging to optimise solar usage. On a sunny day, if your panels are generating enough, the charger can ramp up power delivery accordingly. For homes with a three-phase supply and a decent solar array, this is genuinely useful — though it's worth remembering that fewer than 5% of UK homes have three-phase power, so most buyers will be running at 7.4kW on single-phase regardless.

Price and Value

Note: You'll also need a Type 2 charging cable for the untethered Zaptec (typically £100–£200), which narrows the gap slightly.

The Andersen A3 is undeniably expensive. At £995 for the unit alone — before you've chosen any premium finishes, which can add £200–£320 according to electrifying.com — you're looking at a fully installed cost that could push past £1,500. That's a significant outlay when chargers like the Tesla Wall Connector do the same electrical job for around half the price.

The Zaptec Go 2 at £707 isn't cheap either, particularly for an untethered unit where you still need to supply your own cable. But you're getting V2G readiness, free 4G, a MID-approved meter, and three-phase capability — a genuinely impressive feature set. The question is whether those features deliver value today, or whether you're paying for potential that may not materialise for several years.

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the Andersen A3 if:

• Your charger will be prominently visible on the front of your house and aesthetics matter to you
• You want the hidden cable system — nothing else on the market matches it for tidiness
• A 7-year warranty gives you peace of mind
• You're on a smart tariff like Octopus Intelligent Go or OVO Charge Anytime and want basic integration
• You appreciate British-designed, premium build quality and are happy to pay for it

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You want a charger that's ready for V2G when the technology matures
• Reliable connectivity matters — the free 4G means no dependence on Wi-Fi range
• You have (or plan to install) three-phase power and want 22kW charging capability
• You want a MID-approved meter for precise energy tracking
• You prefer a compact, unobtrusive unit and don't mind supplying your own cable

Our recommendation: For most UK Tesla owners on a standard single-phase supply, the Zaptec Go 2 offers better long-term value. The V2G readiness, 4G connectivity, and three-phase capability give it a technology edge that should age well, and it saves you nearly £300 upfront. However, if your charger is front-and-centre on your property and you genuinely care about how it looks, the Andersen A3 is in a class of its own — no other charger comes close on design, and that 7-year warranty is the best in the business. Just go in with your eyes open: you're paying a premium for aesthetics, not for the smartest software on the market.

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Read our full Andersen A3 review or Zaptec Go 2 review.

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