1 Gang 10A Fan Isolator Switch - Ocean Blue

Ocean blue makes a change from plain white plastic, and here it comes on a screwless plate whose face is left clear and unbroken. The rocker sits in a chrome insert, giving a bright line against the deep colour, and the flat square front keeps things calm on the wall. Switching is triple pole, so the live, neutral and switched live are broken together, which is the arrangement used for isolating an extract fan. The plate measures 88mm square, compact enough to sit tidily beside a doorway.

An isolator switch earns its keep the moment something needs attention: an extractor that has begun to rattle, a grille that wants clearing, a unit due for replacement. With it off, the fan is dead and stays dead, which is what any electrician will want before going near it. We stock it for bathrooms and en suites where a fan runs on a timer or a humidity sensor, and it does the same job on a utility or kitchen extract. Rated at 10A, it has ample headroom for household fan loads, and we would keep it to indoor work on domestic lighting circuits.

The plate and rocker are moulded in ABS, and the construction is double insulated. Cleaning asks very little: switch off, wipe the front with a barely damp cloth, then dry it at once, and keep bathroom sprays and kitchen degreasers away from the blue, since they will dull it over time. It carries a ten year warranty. Set against white tiling or a pale wall the colour does the work on its own, and we like it best in a room where the taps and door furniture are already chrome.

What does triple pole switching mean?

All three conductors going to the fan, the permanent live, the switched live and the neutral, are broken at once. That is why fan isolators use it: nothing at the fan stays energised when the switch is off.

How big is the plate?

It is 88mm square, the usual single plate footprint, so it sits neatly next to a door architrave or in a run with other plates.

Can it go in a bathroom?

It is rated IP20, so it belongs in a dry position away from direct splashing. It is intended for indoor domestic use only.

What is the switch made from?

Moulded ABS, in ocean blue with a chrome insert around the rocker. The build is Class 2, double insulated.

How should I clean it without spoiling the colour?

Switch off first, then use a barely damp cloth and dry the plate straight away. Avoid bleach, limescale removers and solvent cleaners, which mark coloured plastics.

What current is it rated for?

10A, which is comfortably more than a domestic extract fan draws.