4 Gang Twin 2 Way Light Switch - Carbon Fibre

Four rockers sit side by side on a single screwless plate, so one faceplate can handle the lighting for a whole room, or a hall and landing together. The face carries a carbon fibre texture, a fine woven pattern with a slight grain under the fingertips, picked out with chrome detailing. Each rocker is wired for two way working, so it can be paired with a switch elsewhere in the room and the lights turned on at the door and off again at the far side. The plate shows no visible screws and the rockers move with a definite click.

We reach for a four gang where the alternative is a pair of plates crowded together at a doorway: hallways with a porch light, a lamp circuit and the stairs, or an open plan kitchen and dining room with several groups of lights overhead. It reads well in darker schemes, against charcoal paint, smoked glass or dark timber, and it suits anyone tired of white plastic. Wiring is for indoor household lighting circuits on UK mains, so keep it to dry rooms.

The plate is moulded polycarbonate over a metal chassis, double insulated, and finished with a texture rather than a coat of gloss, so fingerprints and the odd smudge do not show the way they do on a shiny faceplate. To clean, turn the lighting circuit off at the consumer unit, then wipe the face with a barely damp cloth and dry it straight away; leave the solvents and cream cleaners in the cupboard, as they will dull the texture. It carries a ten year warranty. We would put it where the switch is the thing you touch on the way into a room, a kitchen doorway or the foot of the stairs.

What does two way working mean on this switch?

Each of the four rockers can be wired as one half of a pair, so the same lights can be controlled from two positions, such as the bottom and the top of a staircase. It works just as well on a plain one way circuit.

How large is the plate?

The plate measures 146mm across and 88mm high, and stands 25mm from the wall face.

What is the electrical rating?

It is rated 10AX at 220 to 250V, 50/60Hz, and is made to BS EN 60669 for domestic lighting circuits.

Can it be used in a bathroom or outdoors?

No. It is rated IP20, which means indoor use in dry rooms only.

How should the carbon fibre face be cleaned?

Isolate the circuit, then use a soft cloth, barely damp, and dry immediately. Avoid solvents, alcohol wipes and abrasive creams, which flatten the texture.

What is it made from and how heavy is it?

Polycarbonate with metal parts, weighing 0.16kg.