# How to choose a wallbox: what to look for > How do you choose a wallbox? Power, fixed cable or socket, smart or basic, load balancing, metering and installation: the questions that make the difference. Published: 2026-04-21 · Language: en · Source: https://laadpaalvinden.be/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-wallbox/ There are plenty of wallboxes to choose from, and the price gaps are wide. Still, it comes down to a handful of questions. Work through them in this order and you will usually be left with just a few models. ## What power suits your connection? An 11 kW wallbox makes little sense if your home can only spare 7.4 kW for the car. A qualified installer can see what your connection and fuse board can handle. You can read more in our piece on [choosing the right power](/en/blog/wallbox-power-3-7-11-kw/). Look at the car too. Many cars only accept AC charging up to a certain power, and that is in the manual or the specifications. If your car tops out at 7.4 kW, an 11 kW wallbox gives you nothing extra. A worked example, ignoring charging losses. You have a 60 kWh battery and charge from 20% to 100%. That is 48 kWh. - At 3.7 kW it takes about 13 hours. - At 7.4 kW about 6.5 hours. - At 11 kW a little over 4 hours. If you only drive 40 km a day and the car uses 18 kWh per 100 km, you add 7.2 kWh. At 7.4 kW that takes roughly an hour. You can safely skip the pricier 11 kW wallbox, because the car sits on the charger all night anyway. ## Fixed cable or socket? A wallbox with a fixed cable is convenient: take the cable off its hook, plug it in, done. A model with a Type 2 socket lets you use your own cable. You can replace it when it wears out, and take it along when you need to charge elsewhere. For how to pick one, see [which charging cable to buy](/en/blog/buying-an-ev-charging-cable/). Measure the distance from the wallbox to your car's charging flap beforehand. Is the flap at the front, the rear or the side? Do you sometimes park nose-in and sometimes reverse in? A cable that just doesn't reach is an annoyance you won't want after installation. Take a bit too much length rather than too little, although a long cable is more likely to end up on the ground. ## Smart or basic? A smart wallbox has an app and can schedule charging, measure your consumption and adjust the charging power to what the rest of the house is using. That helps against high peaks in your usage, which count towards the Flemish capacity tariff (our piece on [home charging](/en/blog/home-charging/) explains it). If you have solar panels, the wallbox can follow the sunshine: see [charging with solar panels](/en/blog/charge-ev-with-solar-panels/). With a dynamic energy contract you can have it charge in the cheapest hours, as described in [charging on a dynamic tariff](/en/blog/charging-dynamic-energy-tariff/). A basic model is enough if the car is plugged in every night, you have no solar panels and you pay a fixed rate. Then you aren't paying for features you will never open. With any smart model, do check that it keeps charging without the app or wifi. If your internet drops for an evening, you still want to be able to charge. ## Dynamic load balancing Dynamic load balancing means the wallbox lowers its power when the rest of your home draws a lot. An example with assumed figures: your oven, dryer and heat pump together pull 5 kW, and the wallbox is set to 11 kW. That adds up to 16 kW. With load balancing the wallbox temporarily drops to, say, 6 kW and rises again afterwards. If you have many large appliances, this pays off. If you only charge at night while everything else is off, load balancing does little. A fixed charging time is a good alternative in that case too. ## A meter for kWh Does your employer reimburse your charging costs? Then you may need a meter in the wallbox that records the kWh. The requirements depend on your employer and the scheme. Ask before you buy, not afterwards. More in [charging at work](/en/blog/charging-at-work-company-car/). ## Installation and inspection Have the wallbox fitted by a qualified installer and have the installation inspected by an approved inspection body. That is the safest route. It may also be required for grants or reimbursement. Those conditions change regularly, so check them at the time you buy. ## Warranty and updates A wallbox lasts for years. Choose a brand that provides software updates and a clear warranty. Also ask who you call when something breaks: the seller, the installer or the manufacturer. ## A short routine before you buy 1. Ask your installer what power your connection can handle. 2. Look up the maximum AC charging power your car accepts. 3. Measure the distance from the wallbox to the charging flap and choose a cable or a socket. 4. Decide whether you have solar panels, a dynamic contract or many other large appliances. Only then does smart pay off. 5. Check whether your employer or a grant sets extra requirements. 6. Ask for a quote that includes the inspection. Looking for a charger on the road in the meantime? The [map](/en/map/) shows where you can charge in public.