Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 vs Enphase IQ EV Charger 2: £417 apart, and why

£417 between a budget charger and an ecosystem play

The Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 costs £362. The Enphase IQ EV Charger 2 costs £779. Both deliver 7.4 kW on single-phase, both carry a 7.5-metre tethered cable, both include solar diversion and built-in PEN fault protection. On paper they look like relatives. In practice they serve different buyers entirely, and the £417 gap is the tell.

• Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 — a budget smart charger with solar diversion, schedule-based tariff support, and the lowest entry price of any featured charger on this site with a tethered cable.
• Enphase IQ EV Charger 2 — an ecosystem component designed to slot into an Enphase solar-and-battery system. Expensive in isolation; purposeful if you already own the rest.

Solar diversion: same idea, different depth

Both chargers can divert surplus solar to your car. The Sync Energy does this via a CT clamp included in the box — functional, and free. The Enphase goes further: it adjusts in 1A increments roughly every 30 seconds and can begin charging from as little as 1.38 kW of excess PV. If you have a small array — say 3 kW of panels on a north-facing extension — that low threshold matters. The Sync Energy's diversion is coarser and less responsive.

The catch: the Enphase's solar behaviour reaches its full potential only when paired with Enphase IQ microinverters and an IQ Battery, managed through a single app. Without that gateway, you are paying £779 for a charger whose headline feature is hobbled. If your panels run SolarEdge, GivEnergy, or anything else, the Enphase loses its argument. At that point the Sync Energy's included CT-clamp diversion — or the Zappi GLO at £750 with more mature solar logic — makes far more sense. Solar buyers comparing options across brands will find more detail in our best EV charger for solar guide.

The grant, the install, and the total cost

The Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 is OZEV-approved. Eligible renters and flat owners can claim the £500 grant, which covers the £362 unit outright and chips into the install. With typical installation running £300–£600, the all-in cost after the grant can land below £500.

The Enphase's OZEV approval has not been confirmed. That alone may settle the question for grant-eligible buyers. Even without the grant, the install picture is different: Enphase quotes typical installation at £900–£1,300 — significantly more than the Sync Energy's range — because the charger usually requires an Enphase IQ Gateway on site. If you don't already have one, that's another cost. The total outlay for the Enphase system, charger plus install, can comfortably exceed £1,700. The Sync Energy's equivalent figure sits around £660–£960 before any grant.

Tariff integration: neither is the specialist

Neither charger talks directly to your energy supplier's API. The Sync Energy offers TariffSense — schedule-based, not dynamic. You set the cheap window manually, and it charges within it. On a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go (8.5p/kWh, 00:30–05:30), that is perfectly adequate. On Octopus Agile, where rates shift every half hour, it cannot follow them.

The Enphase is in the same position — app scheduling, no half-hourly optimisation. If tariff automation is the priority, both chargers lose to the Ohme Home Pro at £535, which has direct supplier API integration. Buyers weighing the Sync Energy against the Ohme specifically should see the dedicated comparison.

Warranty and build

The Enphase offers five years; the Sync Energy, three. The Enphase is IP55 / IK10; the Sync Energy is IP65 / IK10 — marginally better ingress protection, for what it is worth on a sheltered driveway. The Enphase is heavier at 11 kg versus roughly 4–5 kg, partly because of its more complex internal metering (MID-certified, ±1% accuracy). The Sync Energy's build is backed by Luceco PLC, a UK-listed electrical company. The Enphase carries TÜV Rheinland certification and OCPP 2.0.1 — a newer protocol than the Sync Energy's OCPP 1.6J, relevant mainly for future commercial or V2X scenarios.

One known weak point on the Sync Energy: Wi-Fi reliability has drawn mixed reports. If the charger sits far from your router, the 4G variant is worth specifying. The Enphase supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), which handles range and congestion better.

The verdict

Buy the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 if:

• You want solar diversion at the lowest possible unit price — £362 with CT clamp included
• You are OZEV-eligible and want the grant to cover the charger entirely
• You run non-Enphase solar, or no solar at all, and just need a capable budget smart charger

Buy the Enphase IQ EV Charger 2 if:

• You already own Enphase microinverters and an IQ Battery and want one app for the whole system
• You value the 1.38 kW solar-chase threshold and 1A-step granularity
• Five-year warranty and MID-certified metering matter to your setup

For most people reading this page, the Sync Energy is the right charger. It does the core job — timed charging, solar diversion, 7.5-metre cable — for £417 less, with confirmed OZEV approval. The Enphase earns its price only inside its own ecosystem. If you don't already have Enphase panels and battery on the wall, you are paying a premium for integration you cannot use.