Ohme Home Pro vs Sync Energy Wall Charger 2: Is Smart Tariff Integration Worth £173 More?

A £173 Gap — But the Real Difference Is How You Pay for Electricity

At first glance, the Ohme Home Pro and Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 look like mismatched rivals. One costs £535, the other roughly £362. Both deliver 7.4kW on single-phase, both offer solar diversion, both carry three-year warranties. So what justifies the Ohme's premium?

The answer is energy tariff automation — and whether that feature actually matters to you.

In a nutshell:

• Ohme Home Pro: The best charger for squeezing every penny from smart energy tariffs, with built-in 4G and a colour display
• Sync Energy Wall Charger 2: A feature-rich budget option with a longer cable, built-in PEN fault protection, and lower total installation cost

Does the Ohme Home Pro's Smart Tariff Integration Justify £173 More?

The Ohme connects directly to Octopus, OVO, and other smart tariff providers. It doesn't just schedule charging for a fixed off-peak window — it reads half-hourly pricing data and shifts your charging session to the absolute cheapest slots automatically. On Octopus Intelligent Go, that means charging at around 7p/kWh with zero effort from you.

The Sync Energy has its own TariffSense scheduling, but it's a simpler time-of-use scheduler rather than a live tariff-linked system. If you're on a flat-rate tariff or a basic Economy 7 deal, TariffSense will do the job. But if you're on Agile, Go, or Intelligent Go — tariffs where prices shift in 30-minute blocks — the Ohme's granular optimisation will save you meaningfully more over time. For a Tesla Model 3 Long Range doing average mileage, that difference could easily be £80–120 per year. The price gap pays for itself fast.

If you're not on a smart tariff and have no plans to switch, this advantage evaporates. In that scenario, you're paying £173 extra for a colour screen and 4G connectivity.

Installation Costs: Where the Sync Energy Claws Back Ground

Here's where the Sync Energy quietly closes the gap. It has built-in PEN fault protection, which means your installer doesn't need to fit an earth rod. That's a saving of £100–200 depending on your property, and it removes the hassle of drilling into your driveway or garden.

The Ohme doesn't include PEN fault protection, so if your installation requires an earth rod (and many do), your total installed cost creeps higher. Factor that in and the real-world price difference between the two could narrow to as little as £50–70.

The Sync Energy also arrives with a 7.5m tethered cable — comfortably long enough for most driveways. The Ohme's standard 5m cable is tight if your parking spot isn't directly beside the charger. Upgrading to the 8m Ohme cable costs extra, widening the gap again.

Connectivity and App Experience: A Mixed Picture

The Ohme's built-in 4G with a three-year SIM is a genuine differentiator. If your charger is mounted on a garage wall 15 metres from your router, Wi-Fi can be patchy — and this is precisely the weak point users have flagged with the Sync Energy. Multiple reviews mention Wi-Fi reliability issues at range. The Sync Energy does offer Ethernet as a backup, which is rock-solid if you can run a cable, but that's not always practical.

The Sync Energy's app situation also deserves a mention. The platform transitioned away from Monta, and some early adopters found the switch confusing. The current Sync Energy app handles scheduling, energy monitoring, and SolarCharge configuration, but it's not as polished or mature as Ohme's. Ohme has had years to refine its app, and it shows — session cost tracking, tariff integration, and solar diversion all work seamlessly from one screen.

On the flip side, the Sync Energy supports OCPP 1.6J, an open protocol that lets you connect to third-party energy management platforms. That's forward-thinking and gives you flexibility if the smart charging landscape shifts. The Ohme locks you into its own ecosystem.

Which Charger Suits Your Home Better?

The Sync Energy offers nine interchangeable colour fascia plates, which is a surprisingly useful touch if your charger is visible from the street. The Ohme is compact (170mm × 200mm) and has that colour display, but you're stuck with its standard look. The Sync Energy is also IK10-rated for impact resistance on top of its IP65 weatherproofing — handy if your charger lives in an exposed spot.

For solar panel owners, both chargers handle solar diversion capably. Our guide to the best EV chargers for solar covers this in more detail, but either option will divert surplus generation to your car without needing additional hardware.

Which Should You Buy?

Buy the Ohme Home Pro if:

• You're on Octopus Intelligent Go, Agile, or another variable smart tariff
• You want 4G connectivity so Wi-Fi range isn't a concern
• You value a mature, well-integrated app with per-session cost tracking
• You're willing to pay more upfront to save more on electricity long-term

Buy the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 if:

• You want the lowest total installed cost — built-in PEN protection and competitive pricing make this hard to beat on value
• You need a longer cable (7.5m standard vs the Ohme's 5m)
• You can hardwire Ethernet to solve any Wi-Fi concerns
• You want OCPP support or the option to customise the charger's appearance

For most Tesla owners watching their budget, the Sync Energy is the pragmatic pick — it does everything you need at a lower price. But if you're already on a smart energy tariff or planning to join one, the Ohme Home Pro will more than earn back its premium through automated savings. That makes it the better long-term investment for tariff-savvy households. Check our best smart EV charger guide for a wider look at the field.