Porcelain Switch: Why the Base Matters and What It Costs

What is a porcelain switch?

A porcelain switch is a switch whose terminals and contacts are held in a base of porcelain, a fired ceramic, instead of plastic alone. Porcelain does not soften, melt or char when a terminal runs warm, so it is the traditional choice for switches and sockets that carry a heavy load for long stretches: a geyser, a heater, a pump, a busy kitchen.

The name causes one confusion worth clearing up. Searches for “porcelain switch” also turn up decorative ceramic cover plates. That is a different product; we do not make porcelain cover plates. What we make, at our works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, are VIZA modular switches with a porcelain base, five codes in 10A and 20A, and 16A sockets with a porcelain base to go beside them. This page covers both, with MRPs, and where the porcelain base is worth paying for. For the wider question of switch materials, see our polycarbonate vs urea switch guide.

Our porcelain switch codes and MRPs

The VIZA 1M porcelain switches, each with a porcelain base, packed 20 per box:

• V117 ₹95 10A 1 way.
• V118 ₹105 10A 2 way.
• V119 ₹105 20A 1 way.
• V120 ₹140 20A 2 way.
• V120A ₹125 20A 1 way with indicator.

Why porcelain under the contacts

Every switch has two screw terminals where the wires land, and a contact that opens and closes between them. When a switch carries a heavy current for a long time, those are the places that warm up first, and a terminal screw that has loosened over the years warms up much more.

Where the porcelain sits in a switch

Drawn by us, not to scale. The terminals are mounted in the porcelain base, where heat from a loose screw builds up first.

In a switch with a porcelain base, the terminals sit in ceramic. Porcelain is a ceramic insulator: it does not soften or burn at the temperatures a warm terminal reaches, so the terminals stay held in place and the insulation around them stays sound. Plastic bodies are fine for most switches; porcelain adds a margin where heat is expected. Our AX rating guide explains the other way switches are rated for heavy loads.

Where a porcelain switch earns its price

A porcelain base costs more, so it is worth fitting where the load is heavy and long, not on every light:

• Geyser a plug-in geyser switched every morning: V119 or V120A.
• Room heater or an oil heater on a 16A socket through a winter.
• Water pump switched daily and left running for long stretches.
• Kitchen near the hob, where the board itself sits in warm air.
• Shops and workshops heaters, kettles, small machines switched all day.

On a light or fan point a standard switch is enough; the current is small. Our switch materials guide sorts each room by the material that suits it, and our kitchen electrical points guide places every kitchen switch.

10A or 20A porcelain?

• 10A V117 ₹95 and V118 ₹105 2 way: lights, an exhaust fan, a 6A socket that runs a long load such as a water purifier or an aquarium heater.
• 20A V119 ₹105, V120A ₹125 with indicator, V120 ₹140 2 way: in front of a 16A socket for a geyser, heater or pump.

On a heavy point the 20A V119 costs only ₹10 more than the 10A V117 (₹105 against ₹95), and a 10A switch must never go in front of a 16A socket anyway. Match the switch to the socket or load it controls: a 16A socket takes a 20A switch. Our 16A vs 20A switch guide explains why.

Porcelain sockets to go with them

The socket next to a porcelain switch carries the same current, so it is worth matching. We make sockets with a porcelain base in VIZA, VIZA Black and VIYONA:

• VIZA V263 ₹160 16A socket, porcelain base, listed as 2M in our product data.
• VIZA Black V1266 ₹179 16A socket, porcelain.
• VIZA V266A ₹75 6A 2 in 1 five pin socket, porcelain base.
• VIYONA 154 ₹93 6 & 16A universal socket, porcelain base, for conventional boards.

The porcelain 16A socket costs ₹10 more than the PC version in VIZA (V264 ₹150) and ₹9 more in VIZA Black (V1267 ₹170). Our 16 amp socket guide and geyser socket guide cover those sockets in detail.

A geyser point in porcelain, priced

A plug-in geyser point with porcelain at both the switch and the socket: a V120A 20A switch with indicator at ₹125, a V263 16A socket with porcelain base at ₹160, a V1153 Cherry 3M plate at ₹83 and a V613 3M concealed box at ₹68: ₹436 at MRP, parts only.

The same point with a standard V123 switch and a PC V264 socket is ₹410. Porcelain at both ends adds ₹26 to the point. Wire, the MCB and labour are extra; the geyser circuit takes a 16A MCB and 2.5 sq mm wire, with a 30 mA RCCB for the bathroom. Our switch board price guide prices whole rooms, and our switch price list has every code.

Porcelain, PC and urea: three materials

Our catalogue names the material wherever we offer a choice, and three appear:

• PC (polycarbonate) tough and slightly flexible, hard to crack; the body of most modular switches and sockets.
• Urea a rigid plastic that resists heat well; our VIYONA switch socket combined units come in urea (159, 160, 163, 164) as well as PC (161, 162).
• Porcelain base ceramic under the terminals, on VIZA V117 to V120A and the porcelain sockets.

A porcelain switch still has a plastic body and key; the porcelain is where the heat is. Our polycarbonate vs urea guide compares the plastics in detail.

Porcelain in older homes

Porcelain is the oldest switch material in Indian homes. The rotary switches of the old wooden boards were mounted on porcelain bases, and many older kitchens still have a porcelain-based socket by the stove. When those boards are replaced, some owners ask for porcelain again at the same heavy points.

Our modular porcelain switches keep that base under a modern modular body, so a renovated kitchen can keep porcelain at the heavy points and still have a clean modular plate. Our evolution of switches traces the change from rotary to piano to modular, and our modular upgrade guide covers the order to upgrade rooms in.

Checking a heavy point once a year

Porcelain buys margin, and a yearly look keeps it. Before summer or winter, with the MCB off:

• Look for brown or darkened marks around the switch key or socket holes.
• Feel the plate after the geyser or heater has run for half an hour: warm air is normal, a warm plate is not.
• Plug fit the plug should need a firm push and not wobble.
• Terminals an electrician can open the board and tighten the screws in a few minutes.

Our home electrical maintenance checklist lists the other yearly checks.

What porcelain does not fix

A porcelain base gives a margin against heat. It does not make an undersized or badly made point safe:

• Loose terminal screw heats up whatever it is mounted in. Terminals should be tight and checked when a board is opened.
• Wrong rating a 10A porcelain switch on a 16A point is still a 10A switch.
• Thin wire 1.5 sq mm on a heavy circuit overheats along its whole length; our wire table, for wire made for us by a partner, rates it at 13 A in conduit.
• Worn plug a loose plug heats the socket, porcelain or not.

Our hot switch or sparking socket guide goes through the checks.

Buying porcelain switches

The VIZA porcelain switches are packed 20 per box, and we sell in full boxes only. Few homes need more than a handful, so one box of V119 or V120A usually covers the heavy points of several flats, while the standard piano switches cover the lights.

Contractors fitting out commercial kitchens, hostels or workshops, where many points run heaters, often order porcelain switches and sockets for every heavy point. The porcelain switches are 1 module and fit VIZA plates like the rest of the range; our piano switch guide lists the standard switches they sit beside.

A simple rule for a bill of materials: count every 16A socket that will run a heater, geyser or pump, and order that many V119 or V120A switches and V263 sockets. Everything else on the board can stay standard.

Where we supply

Everything on this page is made at our works in Marol, Andheri East, Mumbai, and sold through dealers and distributors across Maharashtra and in many other states. See where we supply in Maharashtra and how we supply the rest of India. Orders placed through our office are delivered all over India, in full boxes only.

From our catalogue: VIZA V263 16A socket with porcelain base, VIZA Black V1266 16A porcelain socket and VIYONA 154 universal socket, porcelain base.