Zaptec Go 2 vs Indra Smart LUX

The £92 between a promise and a product

The Zaptec Go 2 costs £638 and arrives with a headline feature — V2G readiness — that most UK homes cannot yet use. The Indra Smart LUX costs £546 and arrives with features that work the day the electrician leaves: solar PV diversion, tariff-aware scheduling across more than 1,000 rates, and the toughest protection rating of any home charger on the market.

• Zaptec Go 2 — untethered, V2G-certified, three-phase capable, 5-year warranty. A charger for people who plan in decades.
• Indra Smart LUX — tethered, 78 mm slim, IP67 + IK10, solar diversion included, 3-year warranty. A charger for people who want everything working now.

What the Zaptec's £92 actually buys

V2G — vehicle-to-grid — is the Go 2's reason to exist at this price. It is the only AC home charger in the UK certified V2G-ready, meaning it could, in principle, feed energy from your car's battery back to the grid when the economics favour it. The MID-approved energy meter and OCPP 1.6J compliance are the plumbing that makes that possible.

The trouble is timing. V2G trials are still limited, regulatory frameworks are incomplete, and most car manufacturers have not opened their batteries to AC bidirectional flow. You are paying £92 more than the Indra — and £149 more than the Easee One — for a capability that may mature within the Go 2's 5-year warranty period, or may not. The free 4G connectivity and MID meter earn their keep regardless, but they are not £92 worth of keep on their own.

If you have a three-phase supply, the calculation changes. The Go 2 auto-switches between single- and three-phase, delivering up to 22 kW. The Smart LUX is single-phase only, capped at 7.4 kW. Three-phase homes are uncommon, but if yours is one, the Zaptec is the obvious pick from this pair.

Where the Indra earns its price — and then some

The Smart LUX's most immediately useful advantage is tariff integration. Indra claims compatibility with over 1,000 UK energy tariffs, including half-hourly variable rates like Octopus Agile. The Zaptec has scheduled charging, but it is manual — you set the window, and it holds it. The Indra chases cheaper slots on your behalf. On a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go, the difference is negligible; set 00:30–05:30 on either charger and forget it. On Agile, where rates shift every 30 minutes, the Indra's automation matters.

Solar PV diversion is included via a CT clamp in the box. The Zaptec has no equivalent. If you have panels and want surplus generation diverted to your car rather than exported at a pittance, the Smart LUX does this natively. The myenergi Zappi GLO remains the deeper solar option, but at £599 it costs £53 more than the Indra and lacks the same tariff breadth.

Then there is the install. The Smart LUX has a built-in surge protection device and PEN fault detection — components that other chargers require the electrician to add separately, typically at £100–£150 in parts and labour. Indra quotes install costs of £300–£500; the Zaptec's range is £400–£600. Combined with the £92 lower unit price, the total fitted cost gap could reach £200 or more.

Protection and build

At 78 mm deep, the Smart LUX is the thinnest smart charger on the UK market. Its IP67 + IK10 rating means it is submersible and impact-resistant — overkill for most driveways, but reassuring if the charger faces a narrow passage, a football-adjacent wall, or coastal weather. The Go 2 is IP54: rain-resistant, not submersible. At 3.2 kg it is fractionally lighter than the Indra's 3.6 kg, and at 106 mm deep it is still compact, just not as flush.

One trade-off: the Indra's standard warranty is 3 years. You can extend to 5 years for £100 — still cheaper than the Go 2 all-in, but an added step. The Zaptec's 5-year warranty comes standard.

Tethered vs untethered

The Smart LUX is tethered with a 6-metre Type 2 cable. The Go 2 is untethered — you supply your own cable. If you share the charger between two cars with different cable lengths, or prefer a tidier wall-mount with no dangling lead, untethered suits. If you want to arrive home, grab the plug, and connect without rummaging in the boot, tethered wins. Neither charger offers the other format.

The verdict

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You have a three-phase supply and want up to 22 kW
• You believe V2G will arrive within 5 years and want to be ready
• You prefer an untethered socket for cable flexibility

Buy the Indra Smart LUX if:

• You want solar PV diversion and broad tariff scheduling from day one
• Slim profile and maximum weather protection matter — IP67 + IK10
• You want the lowest total installed cost, with built-in SPD and PEN fault detection

For a single-phase home with no immediate V2G ambitions, the Indra Smart LUX is the more complete charger at the lower price. It does more today, costs less to fit, and sits closer to the wall while it does it. The Zaptec Go 2 is a considered bet on tomorrow — but tomorrow is not here yet, and £92 is a real number. If smart tariff handling is the priority and you want to compare the Indra against the strongest tariff-focused rival, the Ohme Home Pro vs Indra Smart LUX comparison is the next page to read.