CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 vs Wallbox Quasar 2

> V2G boundary: A “V2G-ready” label or ISO 15118 support does not by itself provide bidirectional power conversion, export approval or a live energy service. Confirm the compatible car, genuinely bidirectional hardware, certified complete system, installer, service and network approval before assigning value to the claim. Read the UK V2G explainer.

£1,086 to charge a car, £6,100 to charge a car and argue about the future

These two products exist in different categories that happen to share a wall bracket. The CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 is a commercial-grade AC charger — three-phase native, MID-metered, built-in Type B RCD — priced at £1,086. The Wallbox Quasar 2 is a bidirectional DC unit at £6,100 that can push energy back from your car into the house or the grid. The gap is £5,014. What you are paying for, and whether it is worth paying for now, is the only question that matters here.

• CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 — a proper three-phase AC charger with five-year warranty, OZEV-approved, scheduling via OCPP and third-party apps like Monta. £1,086.
• Wallbox Quasar 2 — bidirectional DC (V2H and V2G) at up to 12.8 kW, CCS2 tethered, UK pre-registration only. £6,100, not OZEV-approved.

The Quasar 2's promise — and what it costs to believe in it

Bidirectional charging is a genuine technology shift. A car with a 77 kWh battery sitting on the drive becomes a home battery several times larger than anything you can buy from GivEnergy or Tesla Powerwall — and the Quasar 2 is the unit that makes it possible at up to 12.8 kW in both directions.

The problems are practical, not theoretical. As of April 2026 the Quasar 2 is on UK pre-registration only — you cannot open-order one. The list of compatible cars is short; the Kia EV9 is the headline name, with more manufacturers expected but not confirmed. Installation requires a DNO G99 application with a 30–60 working-day lead time, and a specialist installer — budget £1,500–£3,000 on top of the £6,100 unit. All-in, you are looking at somewhere north of £7,600 before the house wiring is touched. The £500 OZEV grant does not apply. And the warranty is three years, two fewer than the CTEK's.

For V2G to repay that outlay, you need an export tariff that values what the car sends back. Octopus Agile offers variable rates that could make arbitrage worthwhile — buy at 5p/kWh overnight, sell back at peak — but the maths depends on slot prices, battery degradation, and how often you actually leave the car plugged in. It is an investment thesis, not a charging decision.

The CTEK's quieter case

The Chargestorm Connected 3 does not do anything exotic. It charges a car. It does so on three-phase at up to 22 kW if you have the supply, or at 7.4 kW on single-phase — the same speed as a £539 Ohme Home Pro. What justifies the £1,086 is the engineering underneath: OCPP 1.6-J and 2.0.1, ISO 15118 plug-and-charge readiness, a MID-approved energy meter, IK10 impact rating, and an MRCD Type B RCD built in — a component that typically adds £100–£200 to install costs on other chargers.

There is no first-party app for smart-tariff scheduling. No direct integration with Intelligent Octopus Go or OVO Charge Anytime. Scheduling runs through Monta or another OCPP back-end, which is perfectly functional but less polished than the Ohme Home Pro's native tariff-chasing. If smart-tariff control on single-phase is your priority, the CTEK is the wrong charger — the Ohme Home Pro or the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro do it better for less. If three-phase charging with open-protocol flexibility is the priority, the CTEK competes with the Zaptec Go 2 at £638 and the myenergi Zappi GLO at £599 — both also three-phase capable and OZEV-approved. The CTEK's edge is its metering, its built-in RCD, and its five-year warranty. Whether those justify the higher price depends on whether your site needs commercial-grade compliance or just a reliable home charger.

Who should wait for the Quasar 2

A narrow group: people who already own a CCS2 car confirmed for bidirectional DC, who have or are willing to get a three-phase supply, who can tolerate the G99 approval timeline, and who plan to pair the unit with a tariff that makes export profitable. If that describes you, investigate the Quasar 2 with the car maker, installer and energy service. If any condition is missing, do not assign value to the bidirectional feature. The Indra Smart PRO is a one-way AC charger; the NexBlue Point 2 publishes communication support but is not equivalent bidirectional hardware.

The verdict

Buy the CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 if:

• You have or plan a three-phase supply and want 22 kW AC charging with open-protocol flexibility
• You value built-in Type B RCD and MID metering — saves money and hassle at install
• You want OZEV eligibility and a five-year warranty

Buy the Wallbox Quasar 2 if:

• You own a compatible bidirectional car today and have a concrete V2G tariff plan
• Home backup during outages is a priority worth £7,600+ installed
• You accept pre-registration risk, a shorter warranty, and a longer installation timeline

For the vast majority of UK buyers — including those with three-phase ambitions — the CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 is the defensible purchase. It charges a car well, it is built to last, and it does not ask you to bet £5,014 on a technology ecosystem that has not quite arrived. The Quasar 2 may earn its place in a year or two. Not yet.