Electrical Switches

Perth_Euro · Jul 21, 2007 7:58 pm

The electricain has just started preping up to wire our house up.

Now all along I have stressed to the builder that I wanted Clipsal 2000 series switching.
http://www.clipsal.com/trade/products/p ... 000_series
They assured me that this would happen.

When i peared in the window this morning laid out on the floor was the C2000 CLASSIC series.
http://www.clipsal.com/trade/products/p ... 00_classic

Now for some reason the design of the classic series annoys me.

What I would like to know is what you guys think of the designs, and does it really matter? (am i being silly as its "only a switch")

At this stage I will be calling the builder on monday and asking for it to be changed.

Thoughts??

Adrian B · Jul 21, 2007 8:20 pm

How about coming middle way. Where the powerpoint is a feature, say on a splashback, or light switches in dining and entry hallways, go the 2000 that you can put a feature plate on..

In bedrooms, and other areas where points will be hidden by furniture etc, go the basics.

Only I would say that of all the points and switches in our 4br house, I would change 8 panels ( 3 light switches and 5 powerpoints).

Perth_Euro · Jul 21, 2007 8:23 pm

good point.

Infact some of them will be replaced by my electrician after handover with dimmers.

Thanks for that

Cookiemonster · Jul 21, 2007 9:04 pm

I think you should get what you asked for.

off2theburbs · Jul 21, 2007 9:26 pm

I personally like the classic range better :oops:

but if they have made you pay and upgrade fee for the other switch and thats whats specified in your adenda list then don't budge. They wouldn't

Casa2 · Jul 21, 2007 9:46 pm

I like the C2000 powerpoints and the C2000 Classic light switches, if I had to chose between them.

When it comes to light switches, I like the Clipsal Saturn light switches the best. Very nice!

When it comes to power points, I like the standard HPM ones. Nice clean lines.

Above all, if you asked for something and you prefer it, that's what you should get. It will cost them very little to swap them over and the next person who wants the particular light switch or power point will get the parts.

royalblue · Jul 21, 2007 10:23 pm

My opinion..... insist on the 2000 series you ordered.

The benefit of these over the classic series is the detachable outer cover that can be snapped off for painting without having to mask or remove the switches.

We have the 2000 series and we re-painted last year. It is a really handy feature being able to snap the outer cover on & off.

Ash.

Perth_Euro · Jul 22, 2007 2:20 am

Thankyou all for your feedback.

The addenda doesn't actually state the "type" of switch to be installed. I havent paid a premium for any particular style, just made a request.

Will post the outcome i guess!!

perryr · Jul 22, 2007 8:24 am

I'm with you Perth_Euro - I like the 2000 series. The double power points in the classic series with the switches so close together doesn't grab me.

Get them to change 'em over. You are the customer!

Perry

First_Timer_Ray · Jul 22, 2007 10:28 am

I'm with you Casa on the Saturn switches!!! They are SOOOO classy - yet just can't seem to justify the $200+ per plate.
We went for the Slimline - which is a thinner version of the C2000 classic. I don't like the panelled look of the 2000 (which I know you can take off to paint etc but how often is that???) the sleeker/flatter the better. I have to agree that the double powerpoints are a bit funny (with the switches centred) and would have prefered them on the outsides...

Ray.

miagi · Jul 22, 2007 11:57 am

I am an electrician who has always been a HPM man.

Recently I have been swayed to clipsal and I think the clipsal classic series is much more classy than the 2000 series as well as the HPM excel range.
I will be having classic clipsal in my new house.

If I can find a design weakness it would be with the placement of the switch directly over the plug space on the classic series which can sometimes make getting to the switch a bit awkward.

edit : just noticed the new positioning of the switches on the double GPO's.....disgusting! I would agree it looks like crap. The place I am currently renting while my house gets built is a GJ Gardner and they have used clipsal classic but the double GPO's have the switch directly above the socket, which sometimes though awkward still looks 100% better than the new look.

Casa2 · Jul 22, 2007 5:30 pm

First_Timer_Ray

I'm with you Casa on the Saturn switches!!! They are SOOOO classy - yet just can't seem to justify the $200+ per plate.
We went for the Slimline - which is a thinner version of the C2000 classic. I don't like the panelled look of the 2000 (which I know you can take off to paint etc but how often is that???) the sleeker/flatter the better. I have to agree that the double powerpoints are a bit funny (with the switches centred) and would have prefered them on the outsides...

Ray.

Ray, yes the Saturn switches are about $200 each. You get a very nice looking switch, so for a house with 20 light switches you're up for $4000. Sounds like a lot of money for some light switches, even if they look great. But this is not the end of it...

When you get the inclination, for no extra cost, a whole new world opens up to you. You can reassign what each switch does. So if you have 6 switches on the light switch, you might reassign the bottom right switch in the master bedroom light switch to turn off all lights (a "good night" button). You might decide to change the switch that operates the front door light so that it can be activiated from both the switch near the door or the switch in the kitchen. Basically any switch can switch on off any light or set of lights.

The beauty is that from day one everything operates as normal and latter for no extra cost and a little bit of button pressing (on the light switches) you can assign anything to anything.

What do you think?

Cheers,
Casa

P.S. You can also assign a button in the home theatre that lowers the screen, turns off all but certain lights and turns the TV on, but now you'll have to spend a bit more to get the screen and TV into the network.

Vlad76 · Jul 23, 2007 10:51 am

I'd say that if you want nicer looking switches, you change them over yourself. Anything the builder puts in will cost needless extra $$$

ahuang · Jul 23, 2007 12:13 pm

miagi

I am an electrician who has always been a HPM man.

Recently I have been swayed to clipsal and I think the clipsal classic series is much more classy than the 2000 series as well as the HPM excel range.
I will be having classic clipsal in my new house.

Hi miagi,

Got a question for you about HPM vs Clipsal.
Our builder only uses HPM products, but we love the Clipsal Eclipse range after seen it in an Eden Brae display home.

Just wondering, if we would like to purchase the Clipsal Eclipse switches/power points ourselves and ask the electrician to install it for us, what are the things we need to be aware of? E.g. other than the cover what other stuffs we need to buy, ..etc.
Thanks!

Perth_Euro · Jul 23, 2007 7:49 pm

Well the leci has been and installed the switches.

They look fine, not something that I will be worrying about anymore.
The double switches have the actual switch like the 2000 series. (not in the middle like on the link), so they look fine.

Thanks for everyones feedback for the poll too

miagi · Jul 23, 2007 7:52 pm

Try asking your builder if this is possible with them?

I cant imagine that the electrician would really care what he fits off at the end. But you buying your own electrical gear may be an issue.

I would recommend asking if they can install the range of gear you want instead of what they would normally put in as standard..there could be a slight additional cost for doing this tho'

ahuang · Jul 24, 2007 2:09 pm

miagi

Try asking your builder if this is possible with them?

I cant imagine that the electrician would really care what he fits off at the end. But you buying your own electrical gear may be an issue.

I would recommend asking if they can install the range of gear you want instead of what they would normally put in as standard..there could be a slight additional cost for doing this tho'

Sorry, may be I didn't state it clear enough. We already asked our builder, and the answer is they only deal with HPM.

The 2nd option we planned, is to talk to the electrician and see if he can purchase/install the Clipsal ones instead.

3rd options is, if all parts ordered/stocked by the builder and the electrician only do the installation, we would like to know how much $ involved to get Clipsal ones.

So, it would be really helpful if we can know what parts we need to purchase and I can check the price from local Bunning's warehouse/hardware stores.

Thanks for your help!

miagi · Jul 24, 2007 7:46 pm

Sounds to me like your builder is not terribly flexible, its only electrical gear after all. Try what you suggested and contact the electrician doing the work and see what he says.
Realise if your building with a project builder you may be breaching the contract by even talking to the electrical contractor involved, yes you may laugh but seeing as your builder is so NOT willing to help you out wouldnt surprise me if you will have troubles.
With my current builder I can make changes still after contract as long as it doesnt interrupt the building process and they simply send me a VARIATION which I need to sign off on.

You would need to consult your electrical plan and count up the amount of :
single GPO's
double GPO's
single gang light switches
two gang light switches
three gang light switches
etc, etc.

In the end if your electrical switches and power points aren't anything out of the ordinary, there isnt really much difference in brands between clipsal and HPM other than a small amount of dollars. From an installation point of view it should be identical.

Goodluck.

pm me and let me know who your builder is so I can commit to memory a builder to AVOID in the future. Seems to me they dont care much for their customers and that sort of inflexibility is rediculous.