NexBlue Point 2 vs Rolec EVO: the £81 question

The £81 question

Both chargers are untethered, 7.4kW, five-year warranty, IP54 + IK10, CT clamp in the box. On paper, they land in the same drawer. The price gap is £81 and the honest question is whether you're buying hardware for the car you have or the car you'll have in 2029.

The shortest version:

• Rolec EVO — £449, British-built, install savings from integrated PME and RCD. The sensible buy.
• NexBlue Point 2 — £530, V2G-ready, OCPP 2.0.1, lifetime 4G. The forward bet.

What the £81 actually buys

Strip away the marketing and the Point 2 premium pays for three things: ISO 15118 and V2G-ready hardware, OCPP 2.0.1 (the newer standard), and a built-in 4G eSIM with lifetime-free connectivity. Everything else — solar surplus via CT clamp, dynamic load balancing, tariff automation, OTA updates, RFID — both chargers do.

V2G is the headline, and it needs a cold look. Bi-directional charging at home in the UK is still a small, car-dependent programme. Your Tesla won't do it. Most cars on UK driveways today won't. If V2G arrives mainstream by 2028, the NexBlue Point 2 is sitting on the right side of that door. If it doesn't, you've paid £81 for a feature you never used. That's the bet.

OCPP 2.0.1 is the quieter argument and, for some buyers, the better one. It matters if you ever plan to move the charger onto a third-party back-end, a workplace system, or a future energy-flex scheme. The Rolec EVO is OCPP 1.6J, which is the current norm but not the future one.

Where the Rolec quietly wins

The Rolec's case is built on specifics the Point 2 can't match. It's manufactured in Boston, Lincolnshire, by a company that's been making commercial EV chargers for over a decade — that's a different kind of reassurance than a five-year warranty from a new brand. Reliability data on NexBlue doesn't exist yet. That matters when the thing is bolted to an exterior wall for ten years.

Then there's the install. The Rolec EVO has built-in PME fault detection, a Type A RCD, and surge protection — the kind of integrated kit that lets your installer skip a separate earth rod or PEN device. That's usually £100–£250 off the labour. Apply it to the unit price and the real-world gap between these two chargers is closer to £180–£330, not £81.

Connectivity goes the other way. The Rolec runs on Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, or Ethernet — no cellular fallback. The Point 2's lifetime 4G eSIM is a genuine quality-of-life feature if your router is indoors and your driveway is a concrete blackspot. Worth checking your signal before you decide.

Tariffs, solar, and the things neither does best

Both chargers handle smart tariffs through scheduling. Neither has the direct API that makes the Ohme Home Pro the native choice for Octopus Intelligent Go. On Octopus Go or E.ON Next Drive — fixed-window tariffs — either charger's scheduler does the job.

Solar is closer than the spec sheets suggest. The Rolec's Eco and Eco+ modes are a proper surplus-only implementation; the Point 2's solar diversion works but needs the optional Zen accessory for full function. For a solar-first household, a Zappi GLO or the Ohme vs Zappi GLO comparison is the better conversation.

The verdict

Buy the Rolec EVO if:

• You want the lower price and the safer manufacturer bet
• Your installer will charge you less thanks to its integrated PME and RCD
• Wi-Fi reaches your driveway and you don't need cellular fallback

Buy the NexBlue Point 2 if:

• You intend to use V2G within the charger's lifetime
• You want OCPP 2.0.1 and lifetime 4G built in
• You're comfortable being an early customer of a new UK brand

On a wall today, the Rolec EVO. It's £81 cheaper, demonstrably cheaper again to install, and backed by a manufacturer with track record. The Point 2 is the more interesting charger — — but interesting isn't the same as right. If the V2G dream pulls hard enough, the Indra Smart PRO is the other name worth looking at before committing.