Andersen A3 vs EcoFlow PowerPulse 2

£900 for the wall, £654 for the system

These two chargers occupy the same price tier as a new dishwasher, but they are solving different problems entirely. The Andersen A3 at £900 is a piece of exterior architecture — 247 colour-and-finish combinations, a hidden cable that retracts into the body, anodised aluminium that will outlast the car it charges. The EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 at £654 is a node in a home energy system — solar diversion, dynamic tariff optimisation, three-phase readiness, and a dashboard that ties it to EcoFlow's PowerOcean battery. The £246 gap between them is not about charging speed. On a standard UK single-phase supply, both deliver around 7kW. The gap is about what you value on the other twenty-three hours of the day.

• Andersen A3 — the charger you buy because it's visible. Hidden cable, 7-year warranty, bespoke finishes. £900.
• EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 — the charger you buy because you're building an energy system. Solar Mode, OCPP, LCD screen. £654.

What the Andersen's £246 actually buys

Not software. The A3's app handles scheduling and supports Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime, but it offers no dynamic tariff chasing, no OCPP, no on-unit display. Its connectivity is Wi-Fi only — no 4G fallback. The smart features are competent, not leading.

What you get is materials and engineering. The cable retracts inside the unit when you unplug, leaving a clean face on the wall — no other charger on the market does this. The body is anodised aluminium rather than moulded plastic. You can colour-match it to your front door, your render, your brickwork. And the warranty runs to 7 years, more than double the EcoFlow's 3. If the charger sits on a prominent wall beside the front door, the Andersen earns its keep every time you pull into the drive. If it sits inside a garage, you are paying £246 for an audience of spiders.

The EcoFlow case — and its caveats

The PowerPulse 2 is pitched at a particular household: one that already owns, or plans to buy, EcoFlow's PowerOcean battery and solar inverter. In that setup, Solar Mode diverts surplus generation to the car before exporting, and the app manages house load, battery state, and EV charge from a single screen. No other charger on the catalogue integrates this tightly with its own battery ecosystem — the closest parallel is GivEnergy's charger at £444, which does something similar within GivEnergy's own stack.

Outside that ecosystem, the picture changes. Solar Mode needs an EcoFlow inverter to know what surplus exists. Smart Mode handles tariff scheduling, but the Ohme Home Pro at £539 does it with deeper tariff integration and confirmed OZEV approval. The PowerPulse 2's OZEV status is unconfirmed — a significant detail, because the £500 grant would bring a £654 charger down to £154 plus install, but only if the approval comes through. Do not assume it will. Check with EcoFlow before you order.

There is also the question of track record. EcoFlow are well established in portable power stations. Wall-mounted EV chargers are newer territory for them, and the UK installer network is thinner than for brands like Andersen, Ohme, or myenergi. The 3-year warranty reflects that relative youth.

Three-phase — relevant for a few

The PowerPulse 2 supports 22kW three-phase charging. The A3 does not — it is single-phase only. For the small percentage of UK homes with a three-phase supply, this is a material difference: 22kW adds roughly 120 miles of range per hour versus 25 miles at 7kW. If you have three-phase, the Andersen is simply not an option at higher power. The Zappi GLO at £599 or Wallbox Pulsar Max at £513 both offer three-phase for less than the EcoFlow.

Which to buy

Buy the Andersen A3 if:

• The charger is on a front-facing or street-visible wall and aesthetics matter to you
• You want the longest warranty in the UK market — 7 years, no caveats
• You are on a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go where manual scheduling is enough

Buy the EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 if:

• You own or are installing an EcoFlow PowerOcean battery and solar system
• You need 22kW three-phase support
• You want OCPP compliance and an on-unit LCD for at-a-glance status

For most buyers who fit neither camp — no EcoFlow ecosystem, no three-phase, no strong feelings about the front wall — neither of these is the obvious pick. The Hypervolt Home 3 Pro at £625 or the Ohme Home Pro at £539 deliver stronger software for less money, with confirmed OZEV approval and longer track records. But if the question is strictly Andersen versus EcoFlow, the answer depends on whether you are dressing a wall or wiring a system. The Andersen is the only charger that looks like furniture. The EcoFlow is the only charger that talks to an EcoFlow battery. Each is good at its own job — and mediocre at the other's.