Hypervolt Home 3 Pro vs Wallbox Pulsar Max

What £112 actually separates

The Hypervolt Home 3 Pro costs £625. The Wallbox Pulsar Max costs £513. Both are 7.4 kW single-phase tethered chargers with app control, scheduled charging, and IK10 impact ratings. Both are OZEV-approved. Strip away the branding and the gap comes down to three things: weatherproofing, cable reach, and solar — set against price and warranty length.

• Wallbox Pulsar Max — £513, five-year warranty, 198 × 201 × 99 mm. The smallest full-featured charger here. Fixed 5-metre cable. IP54.
• Hypervolt Home 3 Pro — £625, three-year warranty (extendable to five for £100), cable options up to 10 metres. IP66 + IK10. CT clamp for solar included.

The Hypervolt's case: weather, cable, solar

IP66 versus IP54 is the single clearest hardware difference. IP54 handles rain; IP66 handles a jet of water. If the charger sits under an eave or in a garage, IP54 is fine and you will never think about it again. If it sits on an exposed gable wall facing the prevailing weather, IP66 provides a margin the Wallbox does not.

Cable length matters more than most buyers expect. The Wallbox ships with 5 metres — adequate when the car parks directly beside the unit, tight when it does not. The Hypervolt offers 5 m, 7.5 m, and 10 m options (the longer cables cost more than the base £625 price). A 10-metre tethered cable is the longest on any charger in our index, and it solves awkward driveways without trailing an extension or relocating the consumer unit.

Solar diversion is included via a CT clamp in the box. The Wallbox's Eco-Smart feature exists but requires a separate Wallbox Power Meter, bought and installed at additional cost. Neither charger matches the myenergi Zappi GLO for surplus-solar logic — if panels are the primary motivation, that comparison is the one to read — but the Hypervolt's bundled CT clamp is a meaningful convenience over the Wallbox's bolt-on approach.

The Wallbox's case: price, warranty, size

£112 is not trivial. It is roughly the cost of extending the Hypervolt's warranty from three years to five — which brings us to the Wallbox's second advantage. Five years of cover comes standard. To match it on the Hypervolt, you spend £100 on top of the £625 unit, pushing total outlay to £725 — now £212 above the Wallbox.

Size is the Pulsar Max's party trick. At 198 × 201 × 99 mm, it is among the most compact smart chargers sold in the UK, rivalled only by the EO Mini Pro 3. For a narrow passage beside a garage or a wall shared with a neighbour's property, those dimensions earn their keep.

The Wallbox also offers a 22 kW three-phase variant. Fewer than 5% of UK homes have three-phase supply, but for those that do, the option exists. The Hypervolt is single-phase only.

Smart tariffs — neither is the specialist

Both chargers handle fixed off-peak windows competently. Set a schedule for Octopus Go's 00:30–05:30 slot at 8.5p/kWh, and either unit will start and stop on time. The Wallbox also supports Intelligent Octopus Go via the Octopus integration, which is useful.

Neither, however, chases half-hourly pricing on Octopus Agile. The Hypervolt advertises smart tariff integration, but it is schedule-based rather than rate-responsive in the way the Ohme Home Pro manages it. If variable-rate optimisation is the priority, the Ohme — at £539, between these two on price — is the charger to consider. The Ohme vs Wallbox comparison covers that angle in detail.

Which to buy

Buy the Wallbox Pulsar Max if:

• You want the lower price and longer warranty — £513, five years, no extras needed
• Your install wall is tight on space and the charger needs to stay unobtrusive
• You have (or plan) a three-phase supply and want to keep the 22 kW option open

Buy the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro if:

• The charger will sit on an exposed, unsheltered wall — IP66 is a real upgrade over IP54
• You need a cable longer than 5 metres to reach the car comfortably
• You have solar panels and want diversion without buying extra hardware

For the majority of single-phase homes with a sheltered mounting point and a car that parks within five metres, the Wallbox Pulsar Max does everything required — and does it for £112 less with two extra years of warranty. The Hypervolt is the better-built unit on paper, but that build quality has to justify itself against a specific installation problem. If it does, spend the money. If it does not, keep it.