Wallbox EV Charger Reviews

About Wallbox

Wallbox EV Chargers

Wallbox is a Spanish company founded in 2015 with headquarters in Barcelona. They make a range of EV chargers for homes and businesses.

Wallbox currently offers two EV chargers in Australia designed for home use:

• The Wallbox Pulsar Plus
• The Wallbox Pulsar Max (Smart charging capable)

These come in both single-phase and 3-phase versions.

Wallbox Pulsar Plus

The single-phase version can charge an EV with a maximum of 7.4kW. There are two 3-phase versions with one being able to supply up to 11kW and the other up to 22kW.

The Wallbox website says smart charging can be an option for the Pulsar Plus but doesn’t explain how it can be set up. For this reason, I don’t recommend one if you’re interested in smart charging. You’d be better off with...

The Wallbox Pulsar Max

The Pulsar Max comes in 7.4k w single-phase version and 11kW and 22kW 3-phase versions.

The Pulsar Max is capable of smart charging an EV with surplus solar energy that otherwise would be sent into the grid for a feed-in tariff. But it can only do this if it’s installed with a Wallbox power meter. As of December 2024, a single-phase meter is likely to set you back around $210 and a 3-phase meter around $360. While smart charging ability adds to the cost, it has the potential to pay for itself within a couple of years -- depending on driving and charging habits.

Cable Length

Both the Pulsar Plus and Pulsar Max come with a 5m cable, but a 7m cable is available as an optional extra. Even the shortest cars are usually around 4m long, so if a car is parked in front of your charger and you want to plug the cable into an EV parked behind it, 5m normally won’t be enough. Even 7m often won’t be enough.

Pulsar Plus Can’t Take The Heat

The Wallbox Pulsar Plus has an operating temperature range of -25° to 40° Celsius. EV chargers will usually “derate” and operate at a lower maximum power output as they approach their maximum operating temperature and shut down if it's exceeded. But the Wallbox Pulsar Plus installation guide simply says:

“Do not operate your Wallbox charger in temperatures outside its operating range.”

I would have expected a Spanish-made EV charger to handle heat better. But the hottest Madrid has ever gotten is 40.7° and Barcelona has never gone above 37.5°, so I don’t think they’re prepared for how hot it can get here in Australia. This limitation makes it very important to install the Pulsar Plus out of direct sunlight. If the best location for it is sunny, it will need a shade cover.

Pulsar Max Can Take 50°

The Wallbox Pulsar Max operating temperature is from -25° to 50° Celsius. This is considerably better than the Pulsar Plus and much more suitable for Australia. But it’s still a good idea to install it out of direct sunlight.

Location Counts

If you’re thinking of getting a Wallbox EV charger for your home, unless you’re in a cool climate (Hi Tasmania!) you may not want to risk getting a Pulsar Plus, as everywhere in Australia is now at risk of going over 40° in a heatwave. The Pulsar Max is more suitable because no Australian capital has had temperatures over 50° yet.

3 Year Warranty

Despite not being cheap, Wallbox chargers only come with three-year warranties. While this isn’t long, it is fairly typical. Some EV chargers only have two-year warranties, so at least Wallbox is doing better than them.

Quasar 2 Bidirectional Charger

Another Wallbox product is the Quasar 2 bidirectional charger. This can either charge your EV or send power from your EV to your home. But neither the Quasar 2 nor the original Quasar 1 appears available in Australia at this time. Currently, it’s also very difficult to get permission to connect one to the grid. You can read about the installation of a Quasar 1 in South Australia here.