Ohme ePod vs Indra Smart LUX

The £47 gap — and the hidden cost that closes it

The Ohme ePod costs £499. The Indra Smart LUX costs £546. On paper, the Ohme is £47 cheaper. In practice, the ePod is untethered — no cable in the box — so add £100–£200 for a decent Type 2 lead and the two chargers land within pennies of each other. That makes this less a price decision and more a question of what kind of wall you have and how you want your charger to talk to the grid.

• Ohme ePod — 1.48 kg, built-in 4G, Ohme's full smart-tariff brain. Untethered: you bring your own cable.
• Indra Smart LUX — 78 mm deep, IP67 + IK10, tethered with a 6-metre cable. Wi-Fi standard; 4G costs roughly £250 extra.

Smart tariffs: the Ohme ePod's strongest card

Both chargers claim smart-tariff support. The difference is directness. The Ohme ePod shares its API with the Ohme Home Pro — the same unit that powers Octopus Intelligent Go, giving it a live, two-way link to the supplier. Set a "ready by" time and a price cap; the charger fills the battery in the cheapest half-hour slots it can find. On Octopus Agile, where rates shift every thirty minutes, that integration does real work — potentially saving tens of pounds a year over a dumb timer.

The Indra Smart LUX advertises compatibility with over 1,000 UK tariffs, which sounds impressive. Its app does schedule around off-peak windows, and it handles fixed-window tariffs like Octopus Go or EDF GoElectric competently. But it lacks the deep, supplier-authenticated API that Ohme has built with Octopus and British Gas. For drivers on variable tariffs, that gap matters. For those on a simple five- or six-hour off-peak window, both chargers schedule identically and the distinction fades.

Protection and placement: the Indra's territory

If the ePod wins on software, the Smart LUX wins on hardware resilience. IP67 means the unit can survive temporary submersion — not a daily concern, but a comfort on an exposed gable end in a Welsh winter. IK10 means it shrugs off a stray football or a reversing wheelie bin. The Ohme's IP54 is adequate under a car port or a sheltered wall; it is less convincing bolted to an unprotected brick face beside a shared path.

The Indra is also thin — 78 mm from the wall — which matters in a tight side-return or a narrow garage where the car door swings close. The ePod is smaller overall (1.48 kg, barely larger than a paperback), but because it's untethered, the cable management is yours to solve. A coiled Type 2 lead hanging from a hook is not everyone's idea of tidy.

One more hardware note: the Smart LUX includes a built-in surge protection device (SPD) and PEN fault detection, which can trim £100–£150 from the install bill. The ePod also includes PEN fault protection, but check with your installer whether an external SPD is still required — costs vary.

Connectivity: a quiet but important split

The ePod ships with a built-in 3G/4G multi-network SIM. No Wi-Fi at all. If your garage is within signal range — and most are — it connects without any router configuration. If your mounting spot sits in a mobile dead zone, you have no fallback.

The Smart LUX ships with Wi-Fi. If your Wi-Fi doesn't reach the charger, adding 4G costs roughly £250 — a steep surcharge that the Ohme includes for free. For homes with strong Wi-Fi at the charging point, the Indra's approach is fine. For detached garages or outbuildings where the router signal dies, the Ohme's cellular-first design is the more practical choice.

Solar: a draw, with a footnote

Both chargers divert surplus solar via a CT clamp. The Ohme ePod offers Solar Boost (grid top-up plus solar) and Solar Only (pure excess) modes. The Indra Smart LUX has its own solar PV diversion. Neither matches the depth of the myenergi Zappi GLO — if solar diversion is the primary reason you're buying a charger, that comparison is worth reading — but for homes with a modest 3–4 kW array wanting to use what they generate, either unit does the job.

Which to buy

Buy the Ohme ePod if:

• You're on Octopus Intelligent Go or Agile and want the deepest tariff integration available
• Your charger will sit in a sheltered spot with decent mobile signal
• You prefer untethered — cable in the boot, socket on the wall

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• The charger will live on an exposed, unsheltered wall
• You want a tethered unit with a 6-metre cable and no loose leads to manage
• Your home has reliable Wi-Fi at the mounting point, making the 4G question irrelevant

For most buyers on a smart tariff, the Ohme ePod is the stronger pick. Its tariff integration is deeper, its 4G is included, and at £499 it leaves room in the budget for a cable. The Indra earns its £47 premium only when the mounting position demands serious weatherproofing — and there, its IP67 + IK10 rating is unmatched at this price. If you'd rather have the ePod's brain inside a tethered, cabled body, the Ohme Home Pro at £539 is the obvious next page to read.