Ohme Home Pro vs Indra Smart LUX

£7 and a question of character

The Ohme Home Pro costs £539. The Indra Smart LUX costs £546. Seven pounds separates them — less than a month's coffee habit. Both deliver 7.4 kW on single-phase, both offer solar diverting, both carry three-year warranties, and both are OZEV-approved. The price gap tells you nothing. The differences are elsewhere.

• Ohme Home Pro — the tariff specialist. Direct Octopus API, included 4G SIM, the charger recommended for Intelligent Go.
• Indra Smart LUX — the physical standout. 78 mm deep, IP67 plus IK10, built in Worcestershire, 6-metre cable as standard.

The connectivity gap the price hides

Both chargers call themselves smart. Both schedule charging around off-peak windows. But the Ohme's relationship with Octopus is qualitatively different — it is the charger Octopus names when you sign up for Intelligent Go, and its API link means the charger itself decides, half-hour by half-hour, when to draw power. At 8 p/kWh on Intelligent Go, or chasing variable slots on Octopus Agile, that direct integration is doing real work.

The Indra claims compatibility with over 1,000 tariffs, which sounds impressive until you ask how deep that integration runs. It can schedule around fixed off-peak windows — Octopus Go, EDF GoElectric, E.ON Next Drive — without difficulty. Whether it matches the Ohme's half-hourly Agile optimisation with the same reliability is harder to confirm. If your tariff has a simple off-peak block, both chargers handle it. If your tariff moves every thirty minutes, the Ohme is the safer bet.

Then there is 4G. The Ohme ships with a SIM included for three years — useful when the charger sits at the far end of a driveway, beyond the Wi-Fi's reach. The Indra's 4G module is an optional extra at roughly £250. That turns a £7 price gap into a £257 one for anyone who needs cellular fallback.

Where the Indra earns its keep

If you care about how the charger sits on your wall — and plenty of people do — the Smart LUX is 78 mm deep. That is notably thinner than the Ohme (100 mm) and thinner than anything else in this price range. On a narrow wall beside a garage door, or in a spot where the charger faces passing traffic, those 22 mm matter more than the spec sheet suggests.

Protection ratings tell a similar story. IP67 means the Indra can survive brief submersion; IK10 means it tolerates serious impact. The Ohme's IP65 is fully weatherproof and adequate for any normal UK installation, but the Indra's ratings leave more margin. Homes on exposed coastal plots, or driveways where a reversing car is a realistic hazard, favour the tougher unit.

The Indra also ships with a 6-metre tethered cable against the Ohme's 5 metres. A metre does not sound like much until the charging socket is on the wrong side of the car. A 10-metre version is available from Indra; the Ohme's longest option is 8 metres. Cable length is one of those decisions you make once and live with for years.

One more practical note: the Indra has built-in SPD and PEN fault detection. Most chargers require the electrician to fit these separately, typically adding £100–£150 to the install bill. The Indra's install cost estimate of £300–£500 reflects this — the lower end is meaningfully lower than the Ohme's £400–£500 range.

Solar diverting — a draw, with a footnote

Both chargers divert surplus solar generation to the car. The Indra includes a CT clamp in the box; the Ohme has solar diverting built in without a separate clamp purchase. If solar is the primary reason you are buying a smart charger rather than a basic one, neither unit is the wrong choice here — though buyers whose solar ambitions run deeper might want to look at the Ohme Home Pro vs myenergi Zappi GLO comparison, where the Zappi's dedicated solar modes get a proper airing.

Which to buy

Buy the Ohme Home Pro if:

• You are on, or plan to join, Octopus Intelligent Go or Agile
• You need 4G connectivity without paying £250 extra
• You want the charger with the largest UK installer network and the most established smart-tariff track record

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You want the thinnest profile against the wall — 78 mm, nothing else comes close
• Your installation site is exposed to weather or impact risk, and IP67 plus IK10 matters
• You prefer a longer standard cable (6 m vs 5 m) and value the built-in SPD saving on install costs

For most Tesla owners signing up to a smart tariff, the Ohme is the more useful charger. Its Octopus integration is proven, its 4G SIM is included, and it costs £7 less. The Indra is the pick for buyers who prioritise physical toughness and a slim wall presence — and who are content with Wi-Fi or willing to pay the 4G premium. Both are competent. The Ohme is the one that earns money back while you sleep.