Lorna at Vicenza

The first day or two when I'm back in the UK I tend to fumble in the dark for the light switch because it's much higher up (except the bathroom one which is on a dangly light pull) ..... and I have to get up when I hear "Mummy I can't reach the light" or "Mummy can you turn the light on for me please."

37100

No problem. I wasn't recommending any type of switch, but only saying that you can find smaller switches though they tend to be 'trendy' ones and at a price. For me it is a personal choice. However, they are not 'funny sizes' because they all fit the same back box.

magnaub

yep - thought of that! I specified all the heights!

MarkRD

You can get this one from the Vatican and most good "religious object" stores

Lorna at Vicenza

That's simply bloody awful !

MarkRD

Slightly (slightly) better version:

Lorna at Vicenza

Good grief !

MarkRD

There's worse more secular designs of course, but the above were actually thought up, designed, made and sold by religiously-minded people... either they are so naive they didn't think of what they were doing, or they have a very weird sense of humour!

mikethomo

The lastest regulations in the uk are for all new builds the switches are 1.2 m to the top of the switch. This does not apply to rewires or for some strange reason to kitchens and garages. The electricians on site guide also recommends switches be installed at 1.2 m and sockets 450mm from the floor.

Pinco Pallino

Be very careful when sourcing dimmers in the UK for use in Italy, as some dimmers sold in the UK are only for use with the UK 'two-wire' system whereas Italy uses a 'three-wire' or 'four-wire' system. (Excuses for my lack of technical detail as I'm not a 'sparky'.)

This is also true for the recent crop of 'light switch sized' 'Passive Infrared' (PIR) movement sensors.


Anyway, most light switches available in the UK are 'Made in China' whereas most of those available in Italy are indeed 'Made in Italy'...

... I was about to drift 'Off Topic' there – but I won't!

Domino

this is a valid point,
most dimmers are only suitable for use with incandescent lamps i.e. the what is now "old" style.
they are not suitable for use with fluorescent, which many/most of the new long life lamps are.

I remember seeing a Made in England label with tiny letters at the bottom saying Made in China.

Pinco Pallino

A number of the very latest dimmers on the market are specifically designed to dim 'dimmable' LED's (as well as halogen and incandescent lamps) – and Domino is correct to point out that dimming 'energy saving' lamps can be problematic.

However, as previously mentioned, I would be very careful to ensure that any dimmers sourced in the UK are compatible with the Italian 'three-wire' or 'four-wire' systems.

Isakat

Nowdays it very difficult to make a difference between Made in China and made in Italy as most of the raw materials come from China, while the product made from them is labeled made in Italy.
Personally I do not like metal switches for safety reasons and having the Italian plastic switches/plugs gives you the opportunity to match the colour of the switch surround to your decor.
Last year a got a few flood lights i the UK with a PIR sensor. I changed one of them 3 times as the PIR stopped working every time there was a storm, so I presume the tension burned it out. I do not know if it would have been any different had the light been made in Italy ( instead of China, from B&Q).
Sorry to digress.

Pinco Pallino

Oh dear, I really didn't intend to go 'Off Topic' like this, but whereas there is no doubt some truth in Isakat's comment, it really is not the case that " ... most of the raw materials come from China ...". At best this is an over-genrealization (and an inaccurate one at that – as apart from some 'rare earth minerals', China doesn't have a vast amount of natural resources; hence its heavy investment in the mines of Africa, South America and Australia); and I feel sad at the thought of the dismissing Italian manufacturing so wantonly. In many sectors we have world class manufacturing facilities and can make excellent products of the very highest quality. A product cannot be marked 'Made in Italy' (or, as is becoming more common nowadays, 'Product of Italy') unless certain specific (and often long and complicated) criteria are met; (for example, the percentage of the manufacturing costs incurred in Italy).

(Sincerest apologies Isakat: I realize that you didn't intend to 'diss' the entire Italian manufacturing sector: We can be sooo good at things sometimes; and ought to be very proud – but I guess that it's inevitable that market forces and the 'crisi economica' will lead many consumers to buy whatever's cheap, often without considering the wider implications of buying goods manufactured in low labour cost countries.)

I'd better get off my high horse now – it's way past wine o' clock!

magnaub

uh - I do like the Jesus one - I'm sure it glows in the dark too!
I'll keep my eye open for this one!

Thanks for all the great input everyone!