3 Gang 2 Way Light Switch - Strawberry

Strawberry is a deep warm red, and here it runs across a flat plate with no screw heads showing on the front. The rockers are chrome, so they pick up light against the colour and are easy to find in a dim hallway at night. It is a three gang switch, so each rocker takes its own lighting circuit, and each one is two way, letting the same light be worked from a second switch further along a hall or at the head of the stairs. The rating is 10AX, ordinary duty for household lighting.

This is a plate for rooms where several lights want controlling from one spot: a kitchen with ceiling lights, under cupboard strips and a pendant over the table, or a landing where the stair light, the hall light and a wall light all meet at one point. We like a coloured plate best on a plain wall, where it reads as a small deliberate touch rather than something trying to disappear. It suits anyone tired of white plastic and happy for the switches to be part of the scheme.

The plate and rockers are moulded polycarbonate, double insulated, and made for indoor lighting circuits in the home rather than damp or outdoor positions. Colour goes right through the moulding, so it will not wear thin at the thumb mark like a painted plate can. For cleaning, wipe with a barely damp cloth and dry it off; keep solvents, cream cleaners and anything gritty away, as they dull the surface. It carries a ten year warranty. We would hang the room's brightwork off those chrome rockers, matching them to handles, taps or a chrome pendant so the red stays the only bold note in the room.

What size is the plate?

It is a square plate, 88mm by 88mm, so it sits within the footprint of a standard twin plate position.

What does two way mean on this switch?

Each of the three rockers can be wired so a single light is controlled from two places, such as both ends of a hallway or the top and bottom of a staircase. Wired one way instead, it simply works as a standard on/off switch.

Can it be used in a bathroom?

No. It is rated IP20 and intended for dry indoor rooms only, so a bathroom or an outdoor position is not suitable.

What current is it rated for?

10AX, which covers normal domestic lighting loads including inductive loads such as fluorescent fittings.

Will the red fade or scratch off?

The colour is through the polycarbonate moulding rather than applied on top, so light scuffing does not show a different colour underneath. Avoid abrasive cleaners, which will dull the sheen.

Is there a warranty?

It carries a ten year warranty.