Wallbox Pulsar Max vs Indra Smart LUX

£33 apart, built for different walls

The Wallbox Pulsar Max at £513 and the Indra Smart LUX at £546 share a pitch — slim, light, tethered — but disagree on almost everything else. The Wallbox is the smaller box. The Indra is the tougher, smarter one. The £33 gap is narrow enough that the decision has nothing to do with price and everything to do with what sits behind your wall and what tariff sits behind your meter.

• Wallbox Pulsar Max — 198 × 201 × 99 mm, 4.2 kg, five-year warranty, three-phase capable. Minimal tariff smarts beyond Intelligent Octopus Go.
• Indra Smart LUX — 201 × 306 × 78 mm, 3.6 kg, IP67, built-in SPD, claimed integration with 1,000+ tariffs. Three-year warranty (five years for £100 more).

The Indra's install advantage is real

Numbers buried in spec sheets sometimes matter more than the headline price. The Smart LUX ships with a built-in surge protection device and PEN fault detection. Most other chargers — the Pulsar Max included — require an electrician to fit those components separately in the consumer unit. That typically adds £150 or more to the install bill. Factor that in and the Indra is likely cheaper all-in, despite costing £33 more for the unit itself.

Indra quotes install at £300–£500; Wallbox quotes £400–£600. The ranges overlap, but the direction is consistent: fewer parts to fit means less time on site.

Both chargers are OZEV-approved, so renters and flat owners can claim the £500 grant — which, at these prices, covers most of the unit cost and bites into the install.

Tariff smarts — one schedule, or a thousand

This is where the gap widens. The Pulsar Max connects via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, supports scheduled charging through the myWallbox app, and works with Intelligent Octopus Go. That last integration is useful — Octopus controls the session, chasing 8p/kWh slots across a six-hour window. But step outside that single tariff and the Wallbox reverts to a dumb timer. On Octopus Go, you set the 00:30–05:30 window yourself. On Octopus Agile, where rates shift every 30 minutes, the Pulsar Max cannot follow them.

The Smart LUX claims integration with over 1,000 UK energy tariffs, including half-hourly scheduling. If that claim holds — and early reports suggest it does — it occupies territory closer to the Ohme Home Pro than to the Wallbox. Solar users get PV diversion via an included CT clamp, too, where the Pulsar Max needs a separate Wallbox Power Meter bought at extra cost.

The Indra's weakness here is connectivity. Wi-Fi is standard; 4G is an optional extra at roughly £250. The Ohme Home Pro, at £539, includes a 4G SIM in the box. If your Wi-Fi doesn't reach the driveway, that £250 add-on turns the Smart LUX into a £796 charger — and the maths collapses. Check your signal before you order.

The Wallbox Pulsar Max's one clear win

Three-phase supply. The Pulsar Max can deliver 22kW on a three-phase connection. The Smart LUX is single-phase only, capped at 7.4kW regardless of your supply. For the small number of UK homes with three-phase power — or anyone planning an upgrade — this is decisive. No amount of IP rating or tariff breadth compensates for charging at a third of the speed.

On single-phase, the Pulsar Max also holds the size crown: 99 mm deep against the Indra's 78 mm, but only 198 mm wide versus 201 mm. In practice, both are among the slimmest chargers on the market. If millimetres matter — a narrow pillar, a tight garage wall — compare the exact dimensions against your space. Neither will embarrass you.

The Wallbox also carries a five-year warranty as standard, versus three years on the Indra (extendable to five for £100). That's a tangible difference if you prefer not to think about your charger again after installation.

Which to buy

Buy the Wallbox Pulsar Max if:

• You have or plan to install a three-phase supply and want 22kW charging
• You value a five-year warranty without paying extra
• You use Intelligent Octopus Go and don't need broader tariff integration

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You want the broadest tariff compatibility — especially half-hourly rates like Octopus Agile
• Your charger lives on an exposed wall and IP67 weatherproofing matters
• You'd rather save on install costs via built-in SPD and PEN fault detection

For a single-phase home on a variable tariff, the Indra Smart LUX is the better charger. It costs £33 more on the box and likely saves that back — and then some — on the install. The tariff integration puts it in a different class. The Pulsar Max remains the right pick for three-phase homes, but on standard UK single-phase, the Worcestershire-built unit earns the nod.