Notice: Andersen EV has been purchased by EVIOS who will fully support Andersen’s existing customer base across the UK and honour any remaining product warranties. Find out more here.
I just want to get it out there – the Andersen A2 has the best design and build quality of any charger I’ve tested. But it isn’t the best charger.
The materials and fit and finish are immense, and the built-in cable tidy is a magnificent feat of engineering, but the hardware is paired with an average app that is at odds with the premium Andersen experience.
In this review, I put the Andersen A2 through its paces in 2022 to see if it’s worth the £1,000+ smackeroonies it asks you to put down.
Let’s jump in!
Price when reviewed: From £995 (hardware) and £1,349 with installation (no OZEV).
Andersen A2 review
Summary
The Andersen A2 has class-leading hardware with a perceptible quality advantage over other smart home chargers. It’s a great piece of kit with solar integration and in-built earthing, but the meticulous design and quality are let down by an average app that doesn’t appear to be well supported.
Pros
- Stunning hardware
- Bespoke components
- Built-in earthing
- Lots of colour options
- Solar integration
- Tracks costs in the app
Cons
- App isn’t the slickest, and it has had no update since July 2021 (Andersen says updates are coming soon)
- Status lights aren’t the best (three small LEDs)
Quick review
The Andersen A2 is the most expensive smart charger we’ve tested, costing £995 for the hardware only, or £1,135 with a wooden fascia. It basically costs around £500 more than most other chargers including installation.
It’s a tall price to pay, but it is justifiable from a hardware perspective.
The first thing you notice about the Andersen A2 is it doesn’t look like a charger. It’s tethered but the cable is nowhere to be seen.
That’s because the cable is stashed into a hidden compartment built into the charger. With no cable on show, it’s as clean and tidy as a tethered charger gets.
The design is brilliant, with a metal or wooden fascia available in multiple colours. You can also change the colour of the casing.
The Andersen A2 is also more than just a pretty face, designed to make installation simple with lots of space in the case, in-built earthing, and bespoke components.
The app (Konnect +) is the only weak spot. We didn’t experience problems with scheduling, connectivity or tracking charging costs, but the interface isn’t as slick as Ohme’s or Hypervolt’s app and recent user reviews show frustration with missed schedules. It’s something to consider before dropping your cash.
Is the Andersen A2 easy to install?
The Andersen A2 doesn’t require an earth rod because it has built-in PME (pen fault) protection, which simplifies installation.
Installation starts with fixing the A2 base to the wall, followed by preparing the A2 for supply cable entry.
Cable entry can be from the rear for a clean installation or the bottom, depending on whether you want the cable on show. The standard entry is from the rear and drilling can be done on the wall.
Next, you terminate the supply power cable, terminate the sensor cables, terminate the vehicle side charging cable, and fit the weather project covers. The last steps involve fixing the side panels and case to the charger.
Installation requires Type A RCD protection and the installation of 40A overcurrent protection – both simple jobs for an experienced electrician.
The charger has in-built protection provided via a Type B electronic RCD 30mA AC/6mA DC, so electrical work on the outside is minimal in most installations.
Overall, installation is easy, although space inside the case is restricted due to the small footprint. Bespoke components feature throughout the build, giving the impression that the A2 is a seriously well-designed piece of kit.
Design
The Andersen A2 doesn’t look like an EV charger. There’s no charging cable on show, nor are there any bright flashing lights. When installed with a rear cable entry, it’s the sleekest charger on the market by some distance.
It also has a perceptible quality advantage over other smart chargers, with an aluminium frame and polycarbonate parts. It feels rock-solid and inspires confidence from the internal components to the EV cable.
As standard, the A2 has an aluminium front panel available in eight colours and the side panels are also available in eight colours. For £120, you can add an Accoya wood front panel in four finishes (I’m partial to Sorong Teak).
On the front of the Andersen, next to the logo, there are three small LED lights that provide at-a-glance status information. The lights can display green, red and yellow in any combination, and getting used to these is tricky at first.
There are five LED statuses you will commonly encounter:
- Solid green – ready to charge
- Solid green and solid red – charger locked
- Green LED solid, Amber LED flashing – EV connected
- Green LED is solid, Amber LED solid – charging
- Green flashing light – scheduled charging. Vehicle preparing to start a scheduled charge, or vehicle has ended the charge.
The status lights are simple but effective, giving you an indication of what’s happening so you don’t have to whip out your smartphone.
The design is minimalist with a touch of Scandinavian flair, but the real treat is how it stores the cable when not in use.
Built-in cable tidy
The Andersen A2 has cable storage built into the case, which swallows the 5.5m cable so it is never on show when the charger is not in use. The cable can be wound clockwise or anticlockwise and it works brilliantly.
How is this possible? While some EV cables are stiff, the A2’s cable is ultra-flexible and pliable.
The way the cable tidy works is you lift a flap, take out the charger head and unwind the cable through the gap built into the front panel. You unwind it to the desired length, plug in and you’re good to go.
Overall, the Andersen A2 is a beautiful charger that’s designed and engineered to perfection. It is clearly designed by EV owners because it just works. It’s as good as it gets from a hardware perspective.
Charging speeds
The Andersen A2 charges at 3.6kW on 16A and 7kW on 32A for single-phase properties, and there’s a 3-phase model that charges up to 22kW. Most homes have a single-phase supply, but commercial buildings are usually on 3-phase.
At 7kW, the A2 adds up to 25-miles of range per hour. However, you may experience slower charge speeds if your battery is cold. Pre-heating your car battery before charging will unlock the fastest charging speeds.
Connectivity
You connect the Andersen A2 to your home Wi-Fi. It supports 802.11 b/g/n and 802.11 n (2.4 GHz), up to 150 Mbps. Annoyingly, the Andersen A2 doesn’t have Ethernet, which will be a dealbreaker if you don’t have good Wi-Fi.
Additionally, the A2 has Bluetooth so you can control the charger with your smartphone should your Wi-Fi go down.
Cable length
You get a 5.5m cable as standard but you can upgrade to an 8.5m cable optionally with the 7kW unit. 22kW units only come with a 6.5m cable.
Solar integration
The A2 has feeds for solar, letting you charge with solar power. You can set it to charge with 100% solar or supplement grid power in the app.
It uses a CT that is installed onto the grid import cable for solar generation. With the Konnect+ app, you can see exactly how much energy you are using from the grid and/or from solar at any one time.
You need to buy the optional Solar Basic Pack for this feature, which includes a grid CT clamp sensor. The additional cost is around £120. However, in practice, any CT clamp for solar will do.
Konnect + app
The Konnect + app is Andersen’s bespoke application with scheduling and cost tracking (after inputting your tariff’s kWh rates). It provides a visual breakdown of each charging session with the cost, time and power consumed.
The scheduler worked fine for us, letting us charge between 12 am and 5 am to make use of cheaper rates on an Economy 7 tariff.
You can set as many schedules as you like, and you can lock the charger so it can’t be used while you are away.
The app has an override mode that lets you override all schedules and start charging immediately. Otherwise, the charger is on standby until a schedule is activated. You can also cancel schedules at the press of a button.
I like the way the app displays charging session information, with a table listing the cost, kWh and time. Here’s what that looks like:
Now, while our experience of the app was okay, reviews on the App Store and Play Store show a problem with the scheduler not working. We didn’t experience this problem, but there are too many reviews to say the issue doesn’t exist.
The app hasn’t been updated since July 2021 on iPhone or Android, which is a cause for concern. We reached out to Andersen who said they have changes coming soon, although no firm date was given.
In essence, the app worked fine for us, but it doesn’t for everyone and it appears to be poorly supported by the development team. This is at odds with the premium hardware and is something to consider before buying.
Overall, the app isn’t the nicest to look at or use. The hardware is definitely better than the software and Andersen needs to work on it.
Note: our app score (3/5) reflects our experience without ignoring the many frustrated users who have left poor reviews on the app store.
Verdict
The quality of the hardware and the innovative in-built cable tidy make the Andersen A2 a unique proposition. With bespoke components and meticulous quality, it’s a triumph in design and mops the floor with other chargers.
However, that brilliant hardware is let down by lacklustre software. Our biggest concern is the lack of development support – the last app update was July 2021 and numerous user reviews have stated problems with the scheduler in that time.
Andersen has class-leading hardware in need of better app development. Thankfully, apps can be updated. We’d much rather have great hardware and a poor app than poor hardware and a great app.
Overall, the A2 is a work in progress with all the raw ingredients to be the best smart charger in the world. As things stand, though, it ain’t. However, it is worth it for the hardware alone and should be on your list of maybes.
It achieves a score of 4.3/5.
Andersen A2 alternatives
The Zappi v2 is a good alternative. We awarded it 4.3/5, with the Zappi having an in-built display and a better app.
Another option is the Hypervolt Home 2.0. The status lights are easier to see, it has Wi-Fi and 4G, and the app is significantly better.
If you like the premium vibe of the Andersen, check out the Easee One. It’s a beautiful charger with a decent app, although it’s untethered only.
Documentation
This review was produced in collaboration with Luke Mason Electrical, OZEV Approved Installers of home chargers in Cheshire and the surrounding area. We extend our thanks to Luke Mason for the photos used in this review. Be sure to visit them if you like what you see!
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