Most home chargers are down to earth – boxes on the side your house or garage, but when you read that the ‘unique design’, that sets the NexBlue Edge apart, is taken from ideas from space and meteorites (yep, that’s for real) then your interest in this product has been… piqued. The NexBlue Edge is on the edge that’s for sure. All sharp angles and non-conformist lines, you are in no doubt that this manufacturer wants to set its ‘box’ apart from the rest. Now, the thing is, there is form, and there is function and regardless of how ‘out there’ a design is, home chargers must do a few basic things: charge your EV quickly and efficiently and be as simple to use as possible. If a home charger does both of those things reasonably well, then it’s worth considering and, in that respect, the NexBlue Edge meets those thresholds.
As we have mentioned the skewiff charging socket placement, the angular lines and the rather Stealth Bomber look is… arresting, and although it’s unconventional, it won’t look incongruous on your wall. The plastic cover is robust and could look more refined, but the design sort of masks that. It is light and compact and, most importantly, NexBlue have designed the backplate so it’s easy to fit – the installation videos that we have seen suggest fitting won’t be a long, drawn-out process. So, will the NexBlue Edge stand the test of time? Well, there’s myriad certifications, protections and a three-year warranty so we’re confident it’ll stand up to the rigours of the UK climate.
The technology on wall chargers is improving at breakneck speed. Rivals spot functionality on other units and, before you know it, there’s pretty much everything you need to make your charging experience as painless as possible. As with all chargers the NexBlue Edge offer enough flexibility within its app to control your charging anytime and anywhere. You can set smart charging modes, monitor real-time power consumption, and track historical data. You can schedule charging times, override if you need to charge quickly, see your charging history, and see what you have paid for your charging. On one particular page it breaks your outlay down into months at a glance in a really neat and understandable way. Charging schedules will remain effective even without a network connection, which is really handy, and power output and energy usage can be viewed in real time. Although easy to use, the app design looks a little too functional – there are fancier looking charging apps out there, but that said, it does the job in a simple and effective way.
It’s very competitive. At £549+VAT the purchase price is very attractive and that makes the Edge one of the cheapest chargers on the market. Do not assume that because it’s very affordable that the quality isn’t there, because it is. Build quality is strong and the range of functionality rivals those that are at least £300 more expensive. There’s dynamic tariff integration in the form of Eco Pilot functionality and that enables you to get electricity at the cheapest possible rates. The NexBlue Edge features solar integration via its Solar Surplus functionality and that allows you to draw on the power generated by your solar panels if you have them, so not only is the unit affordable, you’ll still make savings in the long run.
The NexBlue Edge is an untethered, Type 2 socket charger that you can lock from the app. It is designed for both single (7kW) and three-phase 22kW operations. It features integrated PEN fault protection, as well as dynamic load balancing, which means you don’t have to worry about overloading your system. You get over-the-air updates via Wi-Fi, 4G eSIM, or Bluetooth, and you can fire it up using an RFID card… or two. Because you have the ability to share charging with friends and family there is an Admin Card, which has the authority to stop all ongoing chargers initiated by the app, RFID cards and other shared users, and a Guest Card where a user can control their charging sessions. This is pretty unique and a great way to control your usage if you are sharing the charger with others. It’s OZEV grant approved, which helps to offset the upfront cost of switching to an EV. The grant provides 75% (up to £350) towards the cost of installing EV chargers for landlords, renters, flat owners and business owners. NexBlue doesn’t have its own inhouse installation service at present, but has told us that they will do in the early part of 2025. Until then it has a list of recommended partners to install your unit.
In short, this is one of the best chargers on the market. The NexBlue delivers in spades in terms of functionality, design, installation, and its Eco Pilot tariff integration. It looks robust and there’s plenty of detail on the tech spec to tell you it’ll stand the test of time. The two big standout features are 1. The price and 2. The solar functionality that will combine to keep the upfront, and ongoing costs down. It’s just a really excellent charger.
Embark on a seamless electric voyage by leveraging our extensive EV tariff information.
Receive our latest EV charger reviews and videos to your inbox.
