Andersen A3 vs GivEnergy EV Charger: Design Icon or Energy Mastermind?

Design Icon vs Energy Mastermind: Two Very Different Chargers

Here's an interesting pairing. The Andersen A3 and the GivEnergy EV Charger are both 7kW tethered home chargers with solar features and Wi-Fi connectivity — but that's roughly where the similarities end. These two products come at the EV charging question from completely opposite directions.

The Andersen A3 is a British-designed, premium-finish charger that treats your wall-mounted charging point as a piece of exterior design. With 247 colour and finish combinations — including Accoya wood and carbon-fibre-effect fascias — it's the charger you buy when you care deeply about how your home looks. The GivEnergy EV Charger, meanwhile, is a no-nonsense unit built for people who already have (or plan to install) a home battery system. Its killer feature isn't cosmetic — it's the ability to charge your EV from stored battery energy, not just live solar.

At £995 versus £478, there's a significant price gap too. So let's dig into whether you're paying for substance or style — and which charger actually makes more sense for your setup.

In a nutshell:

• Andersen A3 (£995): The best-looking charger on the UK market, with a unique hidden cable system, 247 finish options, and a class-leading 7-year warranty.
• GivEnergy EV Charger (£478): A competitively priced charger that truly shines when paired with a home battery, enabling battery-to-EV charging and whole-home energy management.

Spec Comparison

Solar and Battery Integration

This is where the comparison gets genuinely interesting — and where the GivEnergy charger justifies its existence.

Both chargers support solar diversion, meaning they can use surplus energy from your roof panels to charge your EV rather than exporting it back to the grid. The Andersen A3 handles this through its app, and heatable.co.uk notes that Andersen's solar compatibility works via a CT clamp setup. It's a solid, functional implementation.

But the GivEnergy charger goes a crucial step further: battery-to-EV charging. If you have a home battery (GivEnergy's own or compatible third-party systems), the charger can draw on energy stored earlier in the day — say, solar energy captured at midday — and feed it into your Tesla at 11pm. This is a fundamentally different proposition. You're not dependent on the sun shining at the exact moment you plug in. For households with a full GivEnergy ecosystem, the monitoring portal ties everything together: solar generation, battery state, home consumption, and EV charging in one dashboard.

If you don't have a home battery, however, the GivEnergy charger's solar divert mode is broadly comparable to the Andersen's — functional but not exceptional.

Smart Tariff Integration and App Experience

Smart tariff support is increasingly the feature that separates a good charger from a great one. With off-peak rates on tariffs like Octopus Intelligent Go dropping to around 7p/kWh, automated scheduling can save a typical Tesla Model 3 driver hundreds of pounds a year.

The Andersen A3 supports Octopus Intelligent Go and OVO Charge Anytime, which puts it in decent company. Electrifying.com noted that smart tariff compatibility was "coming shortly" for the A3 at launch, and it has since been added. That said, multiple reviewers describe the A3's smart features as "competent but not class-leading" — heatable.co.uk put it bluntly: "there are cheaper chargers that beat it" on tariff automation.

The GivEnergy charger has limited smart tariff integration, which is a notable weakness. Its app — the GivEnergy monitoring portal — is powerful for energy management across your whole home, but it's more of an energy-nerd dashboard than a slick consumer charging app. If you want "set and forget" tariff optimisation without a home battery in the mix, neither of these chargers is best-in-class. An Ohme Home Pro or the Tesla Wall Connector would serve you better on pure smart tariff automation.

Both chargers connect via Wi-Fi only — neither offers 4G as a fallback, which can be a nuisance if your router is at the opposite end of the house from your driveway.

Design, Build Quality, and Installation

This is the Andersen A3's home turf, and it's not even close.

As carmagazine.co.uk highlights, the hidden cable system is genuinely clever: the 5.5m Type 2 cable winds inside the unit, with brushes around the housing that sweep leaves and dirt off the cable as you reel it in. A magnetic lid and integrated LED light complete the experience. The result is a charger that looks like a piece of Scandinavian-inspired home design rather than industrial equipment. With 247 colour and finish combinations — including anodised aluminium, Accoya wood, and carbon-fibre-effect options — you can match it to virtually any property. Andersen-ev.com also notes the charger is British-designed and largely UK-sourced.

The GivEnergy charger is a compact, functional box. At 4.5 kg and 320 × 220 × 115mm, it's lighter and smaller. It does have a superior IP65 weatherproofing rating compared to the A3's IP54, meaning it's better sealed against heavy rain and dust — a practical advantage in exposed UK installations. But nobody is buying this charger for its looks.

The 7-year warranty on the Andersen A3 is a standout — one of the longest in the UK market. The GivEnergy offers a standard 3-year warranty, which is adequate but unremarkable. Both are OZEV-approved, and standard installation costs for either charger typically fall in the £400–£600 range depending on cable run and consumer unit work.

Price and Value

The price difference is stark: even at the top end, a fully installed GivEnergy charger costs less than the Andersen A3 unit alone. That £517 saving on the unit price could go towards a home battery system, which would unlock the GivEnergy's best feature.

The Andersen A3 is undeniably expensive for a 7kW single-phase charger. You're paying a premium for British craftsmanship, extraordinary finish options, and that hidden cable system. The 7-year warranty does soften the blow — over seven years, the peace-of-mind premium works out at roughly £74 per year compared to the GivEnergy.

If your charger is prominently visible on the front of your house and kerb appeal matters to you, the Andersen's price starts to make more emotional sense. If it's tucked away in a garage or down the side of the house, it's harder to justify.

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the Andersen A3 if:

• Your charger will be prominently visible and you want it to complement your home's exterior
• You value a long warranty — 7 years is exceptional peace of mind
• You want the hidden cable system that keeps your driveway looking tidy
• You're on Octopus Intelligent Go or OVO Charge Anytime and want basic smart tariff scheduling
• You appreciate British-designed, premium build quality and are happy to pay for it

Buy the GivEnergy EV Charger if:

• You have (or plan to install) a home battery system — this is where the charger truly excels
• You want whole-home energy management with solar, battery, and EV charging in one ecosystem
• Budget matters — at £478, it's one of the more affordable smart chargers on the market
• Your charger is in a less visible location where design isn't a priority
• You want superior weatherproofing (IP65) for an exposed installation

Our recommendation: For the general buyer without a home battery, neither of these chargers is the optimal choice — you'd likely be better served by a mid-range smart charger with stronger tariff integration. But if you're choosing between these two specifically, the GivEnergy is the smarter purchase for anyone with a home battery or solar-plus-storage setup. The ability to charge your Tesla from stored energy is a genuine game-changer that can dramatically reduce your running costs. The Andersen A3 wins on aesthetics and warranty, and it's the right choice if your charger is a visible part of your home's first impression — just go in knowing you're paying a significant premium for design rather than technology.

---

Read our full Andersen A3 review or GivEnergy EV Charger review.

Compare all chargers →