Cord Zero vs Andersen Quartz

What £199 actually buys you here

The Cord Zero costs £473. The Andersen Quartz costs £672. That £199 gap is wide enough to matter and narrow enough to tempt — especially once you see the Quartz's eleven colour finishes and the promise of a seven-year warranty. The question is whether anything behind the fascia justifies the jump.

• Cord Zero — £473, dual Wi-Fi + 4G connectivity, built-in safety suite, broad tariff integration. The pragmatist's pick.
• Andersen Quartz — £672, IP65, 7-year warranty, 11 finishes, solar diversion via CT clamp. The one you buy when the wall faces the street.

Connectivity: the Cord Zero's decisive edge

The Cord Zero is the only charger in the catalogue with built-in 4G alongside Wi-Fi. If your router drops or your garage sits at the far end of the house, the charger fails over to a multi-network SIM automatically. The Andersen Quartz relies on Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz alone, with Bluetooth BLE 5 for initial setup. That is perfectly adequate if your broadband is stable and the charger is within range. It is not adequate if it isn't — and plenty of driveways sit behind thick Victorian walls or at the end of a long garden.

This matters because a smart charger that loses its connection stops being smart. Scheduled charging, tariff integration, energy monitoring — all of it depends on the link staying up. The Cord Zero removes that worry entirely. For £199 less.

Tariff support and the OZEV question

Both chargers handle scheduled off-peak charging. The Cord Zero integrates with Octopus Go, Intelligent Go, OVO Charge Anytime, British Gas EV Power, and EDF GoElectric. The Andersen Quartz supports Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime — a shorter list. Neither charger chases half-hourly rates on Octopus Agile the way an Ohme Home Pro does, but the Cord Zero covers more fixed-window tariffs out of the box.

Then there is the grant. The Cord Zero is OZEV-approved. The Andersen Quartz is not confirmed on the current eligible-chargepoint list. For renters and flat owners who qualify, the £500 OZEV grant covers the Cord Zero's unit price outright and chips into the install. The Quartz cannot offer that — which widens the real-world cost gap considerably.

Warranty, weatherproofing, and looks

The Andersen Quartz does have genuine advantages. Its seven-year warranty is among the longest available — only the Simpson & Partners Home 7 matches it at ten, and the Andersen A3 at seven. The Cord Zero's standard warranty is three years, though a promotional extension to five years is currently running. If that promotion ends before you buy, the gap becomes seven years against three — a meaningful difference for a product bolted to your house.

Weatherproofing favours the Quartz too. IP65 means it handles direct water jets; the Cord Zero's IP54 is rated for splashing only. If your charger sits on a fully exposed wall with no overhang, the Quartz is the safer bet for long-term durability.

And then there are the finishes. Eleven standard colours, plus optional Accoya and carbon inserts. The Cord Zero is a competent-looking black box. The Quartz can match your front door. Whether that is worth £199 depends entirely on whether your charger faces the street or hides behind the garage.

How the install costs stack up

The Cord Zero bundles an RCD, PEN fault detection, SPD, and overvoltage protection inside the unit. That typically saves £150–£250 on install labour because your electrician does not need to fit those components separately. Cord quotes install at £400–£500. The Andersen Quartz includes PEN fault detection and an internal 6 mA DC RCD, but Andersen's own installers tend to charge more — the quoted range is £435–£800. Even at the low end, the total cost of ownership favours the Cord Zero by a comfortable margin.

Buyers who want the Andersen aesthetic but need to keep costs down should also look at the Andersen A3 vs Cord Zero comparison — the A3's hidden cable drum changes the calculus if kerb appeal is the priority.

The verdict

Buy the Cord Zero if:

• You want the most reliable connection — 4G failover is unmatched at this price
• You are on a fixed-window tariff and want broad supplier integration
• You qualify for the £500 OZEV grant and want it to cover the unit outright

Buy the Andersen Quartz if:

• Your charger faces the street and finish matters to you
• You value a seven-year warranty over a promotional five-year one
• Your wall is fully exposed with no shelter, and IP65 matters

For most households, the Cord Zero is the better charger at the better price. It connects more reliably, integrates with more tariffs, costs less to install, and qualifies for the grant. The Andersen Quartz is a handsome unit with a long warranty — but £199 is a lot to pay for paint and two extra years of cover. Put the saving toward a better tariff instead.