Indra Smart LUX vs CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3

> 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.

£546 against £1,086 — and the gap is wider than the price

These two chargers are not competitors in any normal sense. The Indra Smart LUX is a £546 tethered smart charger built for the single-phase homes that make up the overwhelming majority of UK housing stock. The CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 is a £1,086 untethered unit engineered around three-phase 22kW delivery, MID-approved metering, and OCPP 2.0.1 — hardware that belongs on a commercial forecourt as much as a driveway.

The £540 separating them buys a lot. Whether it buys anything you need depends on one question: how many phases does your supply have?

• Indra Smart LUX — £546. Slim, tough, smart-tariff native. The right charger for single-phase homes that want proper scheduling without fuss.
• CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 — £1,086. Three-phase 22kW, commercial metering, no native tariff integration. Built for a supply most homes do not have.

What the CTEK's £540 premium actually buys

On a single-phase supply, both chargers deliver approximately 7.4kW. The same speed, the same overnight top-up. The difference is that the CTEK carries three-phase hardware, a built-in MRCD Type B RCD, and a MID-approved energy meter with Eichrecht compliance — features that matter enormously in a workplace or fleet context, and barely at all for someone charging a Model 3 at home.

The CTEK also weighs up to 24 kg. The Indra weighs 3.6 kg. That is not a typo. One is a slab of commercial infrastructure; the other sits 78 mm from your wall, the slimmest tethered smart charger on the UK market.

Install costs reflect the mismatch. Indra quotes £300–£500, helped by built-in SPD and PEN fault detection that shave labour. CTEK installs typically run £900–£1,300 — before any three-phase supply upgrade. Total outlay for a single-phase CTEK install could comfortably exceed £2,000. The Indra, fully fitted, lands around £850–£1,050.

Smart tariffs: one charger speaks the language, one does not

This is where the comparison tilts decisively. The Indra Smart LUX integrates with over 1,000 UK energy tariffs through its own app, including half-hourly schedules for tariffs like Octopus Agile. Pair it with Octopus Go at 8.5p/kWh or EDF GoElectric at 6.99p/kWh and the charger handles the scheduling natively.

The CTEK has no first-party tariff integration at all. No Octopus, no OVO, no direct app control for off-peak windows. Scheduling depends on third-party OCPP platforms — Monta, Charge Portal — which add complexity and, in some cases, subscription fees. For a charger costing £1,086, the absence of native smart-tariff support is a significant gap. If cheap overnight charging is the goal — and for most EV owners it is — the Indra does it out of the box; the CTEK needs middleware.

Solar PV diversion follows the same pattern. The Indra includes a CT clamp and handles excess-generation diversion through its app. The CTEK's NANOGRID dynamic load balancing requires a separate gateway purchase. Buyers with solar panels and a single-phase supply should look at the Indra Smart LUX or, if solar is the primary concern, the myenergi Zappi GLO — there is a dedicated comparison for that pairing.

When the CTEK earns its price

Three-phase supply. That is the answer, and it is the only answer. If you have a three-phase connection — common in some rural properties, newer builds, or homes that have upgraded for a heat pump — the CTEK delivers 22kW. That charges roughly three times faster than any single-phase unit. The built-in Type B RCD saves the £200-odd an installer would otherwise charge for an external one. The MID meter means energy records are legally accurate, useful if you reclaim business mileage or share a charger with a tenant.

In that specific scenario, the CTEK's natural rival is the Zaptec Go 2 at £638, which also supports three-phase 22kW and has a stronger path toward V2G readiness. The CTEK's five-year warranty and OCPP 2.0.1 support are genuine advantages over some competitors — but the Zaptec is £448 cheaper. That comparison deserves its own attention: see the Zaptec Go 2 vs CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 page.

The verdict

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• Your home has single-phase supply — which is almost certainly the case
• You want native smart-tariff scheduling without third-party apps
• You value a slim, light unit with IP67 and IK10 protection

Buy the CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 if:

• You have or are installing a three-phase supply and want 22kW
• You need MID-approved metering for business or shared-use records
• You are comfortable managing scheduling through Monta or another OCPP platform

For the single-phase household — and that is most of you — the Indra Smart LUX is the clear choice. It costs £546, charges at the same speed the CTEK would on your supply, talks to your tariff without intermediaries, and sits almost flush against the wall. The CTEK is a fine piece of engineering built for a supply configuration most UK homes do not have. Spending £540 more for hardware you cannot fully use is not a sound decision, however impressive the spec sheet.