Easee One vs Indra Smart LUX

The £57 between a simple mount and a smarter charger

The Easee One at £489 and the Indra Smart LUX at £546 share a power output — 7.4 kW, single-phase — and both include the built-in protection that trims an electrician's bill. Beyond that, they diverge sharply. One is a minimal, featherweight box that trusts you to set a timer. The other is a slim, weatherproof slab that talks to your energy supplier and your solar inverter.

• Easee One — the lightest charger on the market at 1.5 kg, untethered, with lifetime 4G. Best for buyers who want the lowest total install cost and are content with manual scheduling.
• Indra Smart LUX — 78 mm thin, IP67 + IK10, tethered with a 6-metre cable. Best for buyers who want tariff-aware charging, solar diversion, or both.

What the Easee's install advantage is actually worth

The Easee's headline trick is what it doesn't need. Its built-in Type B RCD and open-PEN detection mean the electrician skips the consumer-unit upgrades that inflate most installs — typically £100–£200 in parts and labour. At 1.5 kg, it mounts with a couple of screws and no second pair of hands. The lifetime 4G eSIM means it works in garages where Wi-Fi dies.

The Indra makes a similar argument. It too includes SPD and PEN fault detection — Indra quotes roughly £150 off a standard install. At 78 mm deep it is the thinnest tethered smart charger you can buy, which matters if the charger sits on a narrow passage wall or a pillar. Both chargers, then, reduce install costs. The Easee shaves a little more off the labour; the Indra's tethered cable spares you carrying and plugging in your own each evening. Neither is a clear winner on install alone — it depends on whether you prefer a lighter box or a permanently attached cable.

Tariff integration is the real gap

Here is where the Indra earns its £57. The Smart LUX claims integration with over 1,000 UK energy tariffs, including half-hourly scheduling for variable rates. On Octopus Agile, where prices shift every 30 minutes, the Indra can chase the cheapest slots automatically. The Easee cannot. Its app lets you set a schedule — fine for a fixed off-peak window like Octopus Go at 8.5p/kWh between 00:30 and 05:30 — but it has no tariff API, so it will never respond to a price that changes while you sleep.

If you are on Go, EDF GoElectric, or any tariff with a predictable overnight window, the Easee's manual timer does the same job. On Agile, the Indra is the only one of the two that can act on the data. For buyers considering the Ohme Home Pro at £539 — which also does half-hourly tariff optimisation — the Indra is £7 more and adds solar diversion and a higher IP rating. The Ohme Home Pro vs Indra Smart LUX comparison covers that angle in detail.

Solar diversion and durability

The Indra ships with a CT clamp for solar PV diversion. Surplus generation routes to the car rather than the grid. The Easee has no equivalent feature. If you have panels — or plan to add them — the Indra handles it out of the box. Buyers with larger solar ambitions might also consider the myenergi Zappi GLO at £599, but the Smart LUX does the core diversion job for £53 less.

Durability is another quiet advantage. The Indra's IP67 rating means it survives temporary submersion — overkill for most driveways, but reassuring for exposed coastal or flood-prone sites. IK10 means it resists 20-joule impacts, roughly equivalent to a dropped tool or a stray football. The Easee's IP54 keeps rain out but not much more. For a sheltered garage wall, the difference is academic. For an exposed front wall, it is not.

One caveat on the Indra: 4G connectivity is an optional extra at around £250. The Easee includes lifetime 4G at no additional cost. If your Wi-Fi does not reach the charger, that £250 add-on erodes the Indra's value proposition considerably.

Which to buy

Buy the Easee One if:

• You want the lowest total cost (hardware plus install) and are on a fixed-window tariff
• Your charger location has poor Wi-Fi — the built-in 4G is included, no add-on fee
• You prefer untethered — a clean wall when the car is elsewhere

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You are on a variable tariff like Octopus Agile and want automatic half-hourly scheduling
• You have solar panels or intend to install them — the CT clamp diversion is included
• Your charger sits on an exposed wall where IP67 and IK10 protection earn their keep

For the majority of buyers on a standard off-peak tariff, the Easee One at £489 is the more economical choice — its install savings and free 4G keep total outlay low. But if your electricity costs vary by the half-hour, or if you have panels on the roof, the Indra Smart LUX does things the Easee simply cannot. That £57 buys automation and solar awareness, and on the right tariff it pays for itself inside a season.