Wallbox Pulsar Max vs Andersen Quartz: £159 for a prettier box?

The £159 question — finish or function?

The Wallbox Pulsar Max costs £536. The Andersen Quartz costs £695. Both are compact, tethered, 7kW single-phase chargers that will fill a Tesla at the same speed. The £159 between them buys no extra kilowatts. What it does buy — and whether that matters — depends on how much you care about what's bolted to your wall versus what's happening inside it.

• Wallbox Pulsar Max — £536, the smallest proper home charger on the market at 198 × 201 × 99 mm, OZEV-approved, five-year warranty, no tariff integration.
• Andersen Quartz — £695, eleven finishes including Accoya and carbon inserts, seven-year warranty, Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO integration, OZEV approval not confirmed.

What the Andersen's £159 buys

Three things, concretely. First, two extra years of warranty — seven versus five. Second, a tariff link: the Quartz talks to Intelligent Octopus Go and OVO Charge Anytime, letting the supplier shift your charging into the cheapest slots. The Pulsar Max has scheduled charging only — you set a window, it charges in that window, and if rates move half-hourly it cannot follow. Third, aesthetics. Eleven standard colours, optional wood and carbon inserts, a shape designed to look deliberate on a period house. The Pulsar Max comes in six colours and looks like a competent appliance. Neither is ugly. One is furniture.

What the £159 does *not* buy: faster charging, a longer cable (the Quartz starts at 5.5 m versus the Pulsar Max's 5 m — marginal), or OZEV eligibility. That last point matters. The Pulsar Max is on the approved list; the Quartz is not confirmed. For eligible renters and flat owners, the £500 grant applies to the Pulsar Max, which would make it £36 after the grant — a figure that changes the arithmetic entirely. The Quartz, without confirmed approval, stays at £695.

Smart tariffs — and where both fall short

If you're on Octopus Go with its fixed 12:30–05:30 off-peak window at 8.5p/kWh, both chargers do the job. Set a timer, charge overnight, done. The Andersen's tariff integration adds nothing here — a fixed window is a fixed window.

On Intelligent Octopus Go at 7p/kWh, the Quartz has a genuine edge. It participates in the supplier's optimisation, which can unlock bonus off-peak slots outside the standard 23:30–05:30 window. The Pulsar Max cannot do this. Whether that edge is worth £159 depends on mileage and driving pattern, but for a high-mileage household it could recover the gap within a year or two.

On Octopus Agile, neither charger is the right tool. Half-hourly rate-chasing wants the Ohme Home Pro at £535 — a pound less than the Pulsar Max, with tariff intelligence the Wallbox lacks and granularity the Andersen doesn't match.

Solar, weatherproofing, and the small print

Both chargers offer solar diversion, but with different hassle. The Quartz includes a CT clamp in the box — plug it in, configure it, surplus generation routes to the car. The Pulsar Max's Eco-Smart feature requires a separate Wallbox Power Meter, an additional purchase and install step. If solar diversion is the priority rather than a nice-to-have, the myenergi Zappi GLO at £750 remains the specialist — but between these two, the Andersen is the simpler path.

Weatherproofing favours the Quartz: IP65 versus IP54. On a sheltered wall under an eave, irrelevant. On an exposed gable end catching Welsh rain, the higher rating offers more confidence. The Pulsar Max counters with IK10 impact resistance — better suited to a tight driveway where a wing mirror might clip it.

The Quartz also has PEN fault detection built in, which means no earth rod during installation. The Pulsar Max typically requires one. That can save £50–£100 on install day, narrowing the headline gap slightly.

Which to buy

Buy the Wallbox Pulsar Max if:

• You want the lowest total cost — £536, OZEV-approved, and the grant covers most of the unit for eligible buyers
• Your wall space is tight — at 198 × 201 mm it fits where others cannot
• You're on a fixed-window tariff like Octopus Go and don't need supplier integration

Buy the Andersen Quartz if:

• You're on Intelligent Octopus Go or OVO Charge Anytime and want the charger to participate in optimisation
• Your charger is visible from the street and finish matters — eleven colours, optional Accoya, a shape that belongs on a house
• You value the seven-year warranty and IP65 rating for an exposed install

For most buyers, the Pulsar Max is the sharper choice. It charges at the same speed, costs £159 less, qualifies for the OZEV grant, and fits on the smallest patch of wall in the catalogue. The Andersen Quartz is not overpriced for what it is — it is a well-made charger with a long warranty and the tariff integration the Wallbox lacks. But £159 is a lot to pay for looks and two extra warranty years when the Ohme Home Pro offers deeper tariff smarts for £535. If you need the Andersen aesthetic without the Andersen price, the Quartz delivers. If you need a charger that works and disappears, put the Pulsar Max on the wall and spend the £159 on electricity.