Indra Smart LUX vs EcoFlow PowerPulse 2: slim British or solar ecosystem?

The £70 that buys you British manufacturing

Two chargers within spitting distance on price, pulling in almost opposite directions. The Indra Smart LUX at £615 is a slim, Worcestershire-built unit with OZEV approval and a tariff list longer than most. The EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 at £545 is a newer arrival aimed squarely at households already running EcoFlow's solar-and-battery kit. £70 separates them on the shelf; the decision isn't about the money.

The shortest version:

• Indra Smart LUX — the slim British option. 78 mm deep, IP67, OZEV-approved, works with over a thousand tariffs.
• EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 — only the right answer if you own (or want) an EcoFlow PowerOcean battery. Outside that ecosystem, it's a harder sell.

Is the PowerPulse 2 a charger or an ecosystem fee?

EcoFlow's pitch is that the PowerPulse 2 isn't competing with standalone chargers — it's the EV socket on a whole-home energy stack. Solar input, PowerOcean battery storage, household load, car charging, all orchestrated from one app. If that's your setup, no other charger at £545 does it as tidily. Solar Mode prioritises surplus generation, Smart Mode chases tariff windows, and there's a three-phase 22kW variant if you're among the few UK homes with the supply for it.

The catches are real. OZEV approval isn't confirmed, which means the £500 grant — already only available to renters and flat owners — isn't guaranteed for this unit. EcoFlow are proven in portable power stations; the wall-charger category is new territory for them, and three-year warranty coverage reflects that. Strip away the ecosystem and you're left with a competent but unremarkable charger from a brand without a long UK service record. Buyers outside the EcoFlow world should look at the Zappi GLO or VCHRGD Seven Pro instead.

Where the Indra Smart LUX earns its £70

The Smart LUX answers a narrower question more convincingly. At 78 mm of depth it's the thinnest tethered smart charger on the UK market — meaningful if it's going on a narrow passage wall or beside a front door. IP67 and IK10 ratings mean it shrugs off both hose and hammer; most rivals stop at IP54 or IP55. Built-in surge protection and PEN fault detection often save £150 or more in install labour, which closes the headline gap with the PowerPulse 2 quietly.

Indra claim integration with over a thousand UK tariffs, which in practice covers everything worth covering — Octopus Intelligent Go at 7p, Octopus Agile with its half-hourly slots, E.ON Next Drive at 7.5p, the lot. Solar PV diversion is included via a CT clamp, so non-EcoFlow solar owners aren't locked out of self-consumption either.

Two caveats worth naming. 4G connectivity is a £250 option where the Ohme Home Pro includes a SIM at £535 — if your Wi-Fi doesn't reach the driveway, that changes the maths. And the five-year warranty extension is an extra £100 on top of the £615, making the Simpson & Partners Home 7 with its ten-year cover look generous by contrast.

Tariff fit, briefly

Neither charger will let you down on a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go or British Gas Electric Drivers — both handle simple schedules easily. On variable tariffs the Smart LUX's breadth of integrations is the safer bet; the PowerPulse 2's Smart Mode does the job but has less of a track record. If you're on OVO Charge Anytime, note that OVO manages the schedule itself and both chargers will just do what they're told.

The verdict

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• Wall space is tight and the charger will be visible
• You want a confirmed OZEV-approved, UK-built unit with broad tariff support
• Weather exposure or impact risk matters (coastal, exposed, near a driveway)

Buy the EcoFlow PowerPulse 2 if:

• You already own or are buying an EcoFlow PowerOcean battery
• You have three-phase supply and want 22kW at home
• Single-app control of solar, battery, house and car is the whole point

On a wall without an EcoFlow battery underneath it, the Smart LUX is the better £615 than the PowerPulse 2 is a £545. OZEV-approved, weatherproofed to IP67, built in Britain, and slim enough to go almost anywhere. The PowerPulse 2 is a fine charger inside its own ecosystem and an awkward one outside it — which, for most readers, is where they live.