Hypervolt Home 3 Pro vs Indra Smart LUX: build, cable or slim profile?

The £75 that buys you what, exactly?

Two tethered 7.4kW chargers, both UK-built, both claiming the full smart-tariff suite. The Hypervolt Home 3 Pro is £690. The Indra Smart LUX is £615. The £75 gap doesn't buy more power or a better app — on paper those are level. It buys reach: a longer cable option, a larger installer network, a more recognisable name.

Whether that's worth paying for depends on where the charger will live and who you want answering the phone.

• Hypervolt Home 3 Pro — the generalist. 10-metre cable option, interchangeable covers, broad UK support.
• Indra Smart LUX — the specialist. 78 mm deep, IP67 rated, built in Worcestershire, quieter brand.

Is the Hypervolt's £75 premium worth it?

The honest answer: for most buyers, marginally. Both chargers deliver 7.4kW single-phase, both include a CT clamp for solar diversion, both handle smart tariffs — the Indra Smart LUX claims compatibility with over 1,000 UK tariffs including Agile-style half-hourly scheduling, which covers anything you're likely to be on. The app experiences differ in polish but neither is class-leading.

Where the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro earns its £75 is at the edges. The 10-metre tethered cable is a real advantage if your parking spot isn't next to the meter cupboard — the LUX offers 10m but 6m is the default at £615. Hypervolt's installer network is denser; finding an engineer in Cumbria or rural Wales is easier with them than with Indra. And the phone support, genuinely, picks up. If you're the sort of person who wants a name they've heard of, that's what the premium funds.

If none of that applies — if your cable run is short, you're a capable buyer and you care more about how the unit looks on the wall — the LUX is the better £615.

When the Indra's slimness actually matters

78 mm is not a marketing number. The Hypervolt sits 110 mm off the wall; the LUX sits 78 mm. On a narrow side-return, by a pavement, or anywhere a pushchair or wheelie bin squeezes past, that 32 mm is the difference between a charger you notice and one you don't. It's also the thinnest tethered smart charger on the UK market, full stop.

Add the IP67 rating — nominally submersible, against the Hypervolt's IP66 — and you have the more protected unit. Both are IK10 for impact. In practice both will outlive the car they charge. But if the charger will live somewhere exposed, low, or in the splash zone of a driveway that puddles, the LUX has the stronger case.

The built-in SPD and PEN fault detection is the quieter win. Installers typically charge £150-plus in labour and parts to add these separately; having them in the unit cuts the install quote. Indra quotes £300–500 for install against Hypervolt's £400–600 — a portion of that gap is real.

The 4G question, and what it tells you

Both chargers need Wi-Fi to do their smart work. Both offer 4G as a backup for patchy home broadband. The Hypervolt includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; the LUX adds an optional Ethernet or 4G module — and the 4G adds roughly £250 to the bill.

If connectivity is a concern, the Ohme Home Pro at £535 includes a SIM in the box and is the cheaper answer outright. Neither of these two is the right pick for a router-blackspot garage.

Which to buy

Buy the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro if:

• You need the 10-metre tethered cable as standard
• You want a larger UK installer and support network
• Interchangeable covers or colour-matching the wall matters

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• The charger will sit somewhere narrow, low or visible
• IP67 protection and built-in SPD/PEN detection matter to you
• You'd rather spend the £75 on the install than the unit

The one we'd put on a wall? It depends on the wall. For a standard side-of-house mount with a short cable run, the Indra Smart LUX is the quieter, tougher, cheaper answer. For a longer run or a buyer who wants a name their neighbour recognises, the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro is worth the £75.

Solar-heavy households should read the Zappi GLO comparison before committing — neither of these has the Zappi's Eco+ logic. And renters or flat owners eligible for the £500 OZEV grant will find it applies to either; on the LUX it covers most of the unit price outright.