Simpson & Partners Home 7 vs Andersen Quartz: £46 apart, different bets

British-made, design-conscious — and £46 apart

Two chargers pitched at the same buyer: someone who wants a unit that looks considered on the front of the house, not an anonymous white box. The Simpson & Partners Home 7 costs £649. The Andersen Quartz costs £695. Both are UK-manufactured, both offer premium finishes, both come tethered or untethered. The £46 between them is almost irrelevant — what separates them is grant eligibility, warranty structure, and how much the badge matters to you.

• Simpson & Partners Home 7 — £649, OZEV-approved, 10-year enclosure warranty, anodised aluminium with Accoya and Cotswolds Green options.
• Andersen Quartz — £695, OZEV approval *not confirmed*, 7-year full warranty, IP65, eleven standard finishes plus Accoya and carbon inserts.

The grant question changes the arithmetic

This is the load-bearing difference. The Simpson & Partners Home 7 is OZEV-approved. If you're a renter or flat owner, the £500 grant applies — and on a £649 unit, it covers the majority of the hardware cost and leaves a meaningful contribution toward the install. The Andersen Quartz is not currently on the approved list. That means eligible buyers choosing the Quartz forfeit £500 of subsidy for a charger that costs £46 more to begin with.

For grant-eligible buyers, this comparison is effectively over. The Simpson & Partners is the obvious pick. The Quartz only enters the conversation if you're a homeowner (ineligible for the grant) and the Andersen finish range is the deciding factor.

Warranty: ten years versus seven — but read the fine print

Simpson & Partners leads on headline warranty length: ten years on the enclosure. That's the longest of any charger in the UK market. The catch — and it's a fair one — is that the internal electronics are covered for three years. The Andersen Quartz offers seven years on the whole unit, no split. Which structure you prefer depends on what you think is more likely to fail. Enclosures exposed to British weather degrade; electronics degrade too, but usually within a predictable window. A ten-year enclosure guarantee is unusual and worth something, but don't mistake it for ten years of bumper-to-bumper cover.

Finish and weatherproofing

Andersen's reputation was built on the A3 and its hidden cable drum. The Quartz drops that party trick but keeps the design language — eleven standard colours, optional Accoya wood and carbon inserts, and a compact 286 × 172 mm face. It's smaller and lighter than the Simpson & Partners (3.4–5.2 kg versus roughly 5.5 kg) and carries an IP65 rating, which means jet-spray protection rather than the Home 7's IP54 splash resistance. If the charger sits on an exposed wall with no overhang, IP65 is worth having.

The Simpson & Partners isn't short on aesthetics. Anodised aluminium, Accoya wood, Cotswolds Green — it reads well on a period property. But the Andersen offers more breadth: more colours, more material options, more ways to match brickwork or cladding. If your front elevation is part of the decision, the Quartz has the edge.

Smart features and tariff support

Neither charger is a tariff-chasing specialist. Both support scheduled charging and integrate with Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime. The Andersen Quartz also supports Intelligent Octopus Go — useful if you want your supplier to manage charge sessions automatically. The Simpson & Partners lists EDF GoElectric compatibility too.

Neither handles half-hourly variable rates like Octopus Agile with the granularity of an Ohme Home Pro. If tariff optimisation is the priority, neither of these is the right charger — the Ohme is, at £535.

Both include solar compatibility. The Quartz ships with a CT clamp for solar diversion out of the box; the Simpson & Partners lists solar compatibility but relies on its app scheduling. For serious solar diversion, a myenergi Zappi GLO remains the benchmark — but for light surplus-chasing, both manage.

The smaller question: installer networks

Simpson & Partners has a thinner installer network than Andersen. That's worth checking before you commit. Andersen runs its own installation service — professional, but typically priced above generic OZEV fitters (the Quartz lists £435–£800 versus £400–£600 for the Simpson & Partners). Confirm a local fitter is comfortable with whichever unit you choose; a charger is only as good as the install behind it.

Which to buy

Buy the Simpson & Partners Home 7 if:

• You're eligible for the £500 OZEV grant — the Quartz can't match this
• You value the 10-year enclosure warranty and plan to stay in the property
• You want a three-phase option at no surcharge on the base unit

Buy the Andersen Quartz if:

• You're a homeowner (grant-ineligible) and want the widest choice of finishes
• The charger sits on a fully exposed wall — IP65 beats IP54
• You're already in the Andersen ecosystem or want Intelligent Octopus Go integration

For most buyers, the Simpson & Partners Home 7 is the better charger at the better price. It's OZEV-approved, carries the market's longest enclosure warranty, and costs £46 less. The Andersen Quartz is a handsome piece of hardware — but without confirmed grant eligibility, it's asking more and offering less where it counts. If the Andersen name and finish range are what draw you, and budget is less constrained, the Andersen A3 at £995 is the one that justifies the premium with its concealed cable. The Quartz sits in between — not quite enough Andersen, not quite enough value.