Indra Smart PRO vs Andersen Quartz: £96 for a longer warranty and prettier box

£96, four extra warranty years, and a question of weatherproofing

The Indra Smart PRO costs £599. The Andersen Quartz costs £695. Both are tethered, single-phase, smart-tariff-capable, and both include a CT clamp for solar diversion. The spec sheets look close enough to blur. The differences are in what each charger saves you *around* the unit price — and how long the manufacturer stands behind it.

• Indra Smart PRO — £599 with surge protection and CT clamp in the box. Three-year warranty. British-made, IP54, 6-metre cable.
• Andersen Quartz — £695 with eleven finishes, IP65, and a seven-year warranty. No SPD included. 5.5-metre cable as standard.

The Indra's hidden discount

The Indra's headline price is £599, which is not cheap. But the box includes a surge protection device — typically a £100–£150 line item on the install quote — and a CT clamp for solar, which saves another £50–£100. Factor those in and the effective cost drops toward £350–£450, which puts it alongside the Easee One and Tesla Wall Connector in real-world outlay.

The Quartz includes its own CT clamp but no SPD. Its install costs run £435–£800, and Andersen's own installer network tends to quote higher than independent OZEV-registered fitters. The £96 gap on paper can widen to £200+ once the electrician leaves.

One more wrinkle: the Indra is OZEV-approved; the Quartz is not confirmed on the current eligible-chargepoint list. If you're a renter or flat owner eligible for the £500 grant, the Indra qualifies. The Quartz, as things stand, does not — and that alone could settle the matter for grant-eligible buyers.

Warranty and weatherproofing favour the Andersen

Seven years versus three. That is the Quartz's clearest advantage, and it is not trivial. A home charger lives outdoors, year-round, through frost and August downpours. The Quartz's IP65 rating means it handles direct water jets — a real consideration on an exposed, unsheltered wall. The Indra's IP54 is fine under a porch or in a garage but less reassuring on a north-facing gable end.

If your charger will sit in the weather and you plan to keep the car for six or seven years, the Quartz's warranty arithmetic starts to work. If you're sheltered or likely to change charger within three years anyway — perhaps waiting for V2G hardware to mature — the Indra's shorter cover matters less.

The only charger in this price range that matches the Quartz's seven-year warranty is the Simpson & Partners Home 7, which goes further with ten years at £649. Worth a look if longevity is the priority and aesthetics are secondary.

Smart tariff support is a draw — mostly

Both chargers integrate with Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime. The Indra also lists Octopus Go and EDF GoElectric compatibility. Neither charger handles half-hourly tariffs like Octopus Agile with the granularity of an Ohme Home Pro — if Agile is your tariff, neither of these two is the right charger.

On fixed off-peak windows — Go's 00:30–05:30, or E.ON Next Drive's midnight-to-six — both do the job. The Indra's app is functional but basic; the Andersen app is a little more polished. Neither will change your life.

The design question

The Quartz exists because the Andersen A3 costs £995 and not everyone wants to spend that. At £695, the Quartz keeps the eleven-colour palette, the compact 286 × 172 mm footprint, and the optional Accoya wood or carbon inserts. It loses the A3's hidden cable drum — the cable hangs free — but it still looks like something chosen rather than something fitted.

The Indra is a white box. A perfectly decent white box, 340 × 240 mm, heavier at around 5 kg. It does not pretend to be furniture. If your charger faces the street and you care what the neighbours think, the Quartz costs £96 for a different conversation.

Which to buy

Buy the Indra Smart PRO if:

• Your installer would otherwise charge for an SPD and CT clamp — the included kit brings the true cost well below £500
• You're eligible for the £500 OZEV grant (the Indra is approved; the Quartz is not confirmed)
• You want a 6-metre cable and don't need the charger to survive direct rain on an exposed wall

Buy the Andersen Quartz if:

• The charger sits on an unsheltered wall and you want IP65 plus a seven-year warranty
• Finish matters — you're choosing from eleven colours, not accepting white
• You plan to keep the car and charger for five years or more and value the longer cover

For most single-phase homes on a sheltered wall, the Indra Smart PRO is the better buy. Its included extras compress the real cost, it qualifies for the grant, and its 6-metre cable reaches further than the Quartz's standard 5.5 metres. The Quartz is a considered upgrade for exposed installations and buyers who treat a charger as part of the house, not just the driveway. At £96 more — potentially much more after install — it needs to earn that gap. On a sheltered wall, it doesn't.