Indra Smart LUX vs Andersen Quartz

The £126 question: toughness and tariffs versus finish and warranty

The Indra Smart LUX costs £546. The Andersen Quartz costs £672 — £126 more. They sit in a similar band, they both divert solar, and they both hang on your wall looking better than most of their rivals. The resemblance ends there.

• Indra Smart LUX — the thinnest tethered smart charger on the market (78 mm deep), IP67 + IK10 rated, with tariff integration across 1,000+ suppliers including half-hourly scheduling. Three-year warranty.
• Andersen Quartz — eleven standard finishes, a seven-year warranty, and integration with Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime. Prettier. Less clever.

Smart tariff coverage is not close

This is the load-bearing difference. The Indra claims compatibility with over 1,000 UK energy tariffs, including Agile-style half-hourly optimisation. If you are on Octopus Agile — where rates shift every 30 minutes and the cheapest slots can drop below 5p/kWh — the Smart LUX can chase them. The Quartz cannot.

The Andersen's tariff support is limited to Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime. Both are decent tariffs — Intelligent Go's 8p/kWh off-peak window is generous — but they are managed tariffs where the supplier, not the charger, does most of the thinking. On a fixed-window deal like Octopus Go (8.5p/kWh, 00:30–05:30), either charger can be scheduled to hit the window manually. The Indra's advantage appears when rates move and you want the charger to move with them.

If your tariff is fixed-window or supplier-managed, this gap narrows. If you are on or considering Agile, the gap is the whole argument.

Weatherproofing and build

The Indra Smart LUX carries IP67 and IK10 ratings — submersible to one metre and resistant to 20-joule impacts. The Andersen Quartz is IP65: protected against water jets, not submersion. For a charger mounted on a sheltered garage wall, the distinction is academic. For an exposed front-of-house install in a Welsh winter, the Indra's ratings offer measurable extra peace of mind.

Both units include PEN fault detection, which saves the cost of an earth rod at install. The Indra also includes a built-in SPD (surge protection device), which typically shaves £150 or more off installation labour. Andersen's install costs tend to run higher — £435–£800 against the Indra's £300–£500 — partly because Andersen uses its own installer network rather than generic OZEV-approved fitters.

Warranty and the OZEV question

The Quartz's seven-year warranty is its strongest card against the field. The Indra offers three years as standard, with a five-year extension available for £100 extra — which still leaves it two years short. For a £672 unit, seven years of cover is reassuring. For a £546 unit with an optional extension to five, the maths are different but not disqualifying.

There is, however, a significant practical difference for grant-eligible buyers. The Indra Smart LUX is OZEV-approved; the £500 grant (available to renters and flat owners) applies. The Andersen Quartz is not confirmed on the current eligible-chargepoint list. That means an eligible buyer choosing the Indra could see the unit cost drop to £46 after the grant, with the remainder contributing to install. A Quartz buyer pays full price — £672 — with no guarantee of grant support. The effective gap between the two could stretch well beyond £126.

Finish and form factor

The Andersen's eleven standard colour options — plus optional Accoya wood and carbon inserts — are not a gimmick. If the charger sits beside your front door, visible from the street, the Quartz looks like a considered design choice. The Indra looks like a charger. A slim, well-made charger, but a charger.

The Smart LUX is 78 mm deep — barely more than a light switch's depth from the wall. The Quartz is 110 mm deep and slightly smaller in face area (286 × 172 mm versus 201 × 306 mm). Both are compact by the standards of the category. If you want something that disappears against the brickwork, the Indra's slimness wins. If you want something that decorates the brickwork, the Andersen's finishes win.

Buyers drawn to the Andersen aesthetic but wanting the hidden-cable trick should look at the Andersen A3 — £900, but a different proposition entirely. That comparison is covered in detail on its own page.

The verdict

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You want broad smart-tariff support, especially on half-hourly rates like Agile
• You need the toughest weatherproofing available (IP67 + IK10)
• You are eligible for the OZEV grant and want confirmed approval

Buy the Andersen Quartz if:

• A seven-year warranty matters more than tariff flexibility
• You want to match the charger to your house — eleven colours, wood, carbon
• Your tariff is Intelligent Octopus Go or OVO Charge Anytime, and you do not plan to switch

For most buyers — particularly those on variable tariffs or eligible for the grant — the Indra Smart LUX is the better purchase at £546. It does more, costs less, and installs cheaper. The Andersen Quartz is a handsome unit with excellent warranty cover, but £126 buys you aesthetics and longevity, not intelligence. If the charger's job is to save you money, the Indra does it more convincingly.