1 Gang 10A Fan Isolator Switch - Midnight Blue

Colour on a wall plate is rare, and this one wears a deep midnight blue with a chrome rocker at its centre. The plate is screwless, so the face reads as a clean square with nothing to interrupt it, and it measures a compact 88mm across. Behind that quiet front it is a triple pole isolator, rated 10A, the sort of switch used to cut the supply to a bathroom extract fan so the fan can be worked on safely. The rocker action is firm and positive, with the familiar click you expect.

We reach for it where an ordinary white plate would look like an afterthought: a boldly painted bathroom, a cloakroom papered in something dark, a utility room where the walls have been given some colour. It sits on the dry side of things, outside the splash zones, so a landing, hallway or the wall just outside a bathroom door suits it well. It works on domestic lighting circuits and stays indoors. Anyone specifying fan isolation but unwilling to accept a plain plastic square in the middle of a considered scheme will get on with it.

The plate and rocker are moulded ABS, which carries colour through the material rather than over it, and the switch is double insulated. Keep the face clean with a soft cloth, barely damp if it needs it, and keep cream cleaners and solvents well away, since they dull a moulded finish quickly. It carries a ten year warranty. The chrome rocker gives it a thread back to chrome taps, towel rails and shower fittings, and we are happy to see it paired with brighter plates elsewhere in the same room rather than matched slavishly through the house.

What does triple pole mean on a fan isolator?

It breaks all three poles at once, the live, the neutral and the switched live that runs the fan, so the fan is fully isolated for servicing rather than simply turned off.

What size is the plate?

The plate is 88mm square, with a 25mm depth behind it. It is a single gang footprint, so it sits in line with other plates of the same size.

Is it suitable for a bathroom?

It is rated IP20 and is for dry positions only, which in practice means outside the bathroom zones, typically on the wall just beyond the door or on the landing outside.

What current is it rated for?

10A, which comfortably covers domestic extract fans on a lighting circuit.

How should the blue finish be cleaned?

A soft cloth, lightly damp at most. Abrasive creams, bleach-based sprays and solvent cleaners will take the sheen off the moulding, so avoid them entirely.

How long is the warranty?

Ten years.