How to Upgrade to Modular Switches Across Your Whole House

Upgrading to modular switches: what the project involves

To upgrade to modular switches across a house, you replace each old switch board with a module-sized box, a frame, clip-in switch and socket modules and a cover plate, usually room by room, with an electrician checking the wiring and the MCB board while the walls are open.

This guide is about the whole-house job: the signs that say it is time, whether your existing boxes and wires can be reused, which rooms to do first, and what the parts cost for a worked 2BHK example at our printed MRPs. If you only need to change one faulty switch, our guide to replacing a single switch in a switch board is the shorter read. If you are still deciding whether modular is worth it at all, start with modular vs normal switches.

Every price below is a printed MRP from our current catalogue; we have made these parts in Mumbai since 1995.

7 signs your switches need replacing

The seven signs that your switches need replacing are a switch or plate that feels warm, sparking or crackling, a burning smell, lights that flicker when a switch is touched, plugs that fall out of loose sockets, rockers that wobble or stick, and plates that have yellowed or cracked. The first four are safety warnings; the last three say the board is worn out.

Warm switch or plate Sparking or crackling Burning smell Flicker when touched point to a loose or burnt contact behind the plate. Loose plugs Wobbly or sticking rocker Yellowed or brittle plate mean the parts have aged. Older boards also tend to have rewirable fuses and 2 pin sockets with no earth, a reason to review the whole circuit.

Can you convert a normal switch board to modular?

Yes, you can convert a normal switch board to modular in almost every home: the old sheet plate and box come out, a box sized in modules goes in its place, and the existing wires are reconnected to the new modules if they are in good condition, which your electrician checks before anything is fixed to the wall.

There are two routes. The concealed route chases the wall a little so a module-sized box sits flush, then the plaster is patched. The surface route fixes a surface box over the old point and needs no chasing, which suits rented flats and walls you do not want to break. Either way the board ends up 1M 2M 4M 6M 8M or larger, counted in modules.

The worked example in the table below shows what that looks like for a whole 2BHK.

Will your existing boxes take a modular plate?

Your existing boxes will take a modular plate only if they are already modular boxes of the right module size and still sound; a box from an older non-modular board, a wooden board or a rusted metal box usually has to be replaced with a concealed or surface box sized in modules to match the new plate.

If the house already has modular boxes from an earlier fit-out, you are lucky: our plates are made to fit all major modular switch systems, so a sound standard box can stay. Check it for rust cracks and a shallow depth that crushes wires when the plate is tightened.

For new boxes our catalogue has four families. The VIZA concealed unbreakable box (V611 to V619) and the concealed G.I. sheet metal box (V621 to V629) sit inside the wall. The surface unbreakable white box (V631 to V639) and the VIZA smart modular surface gang box (V641 to V649) sit on it.

Does the wiring need changing too?

The wiring needs changing only where it is damaged or undersized: if the insulation is cracked, brittle or blackened near the old board, or a heavy load such as a geyser or AC shares a thin wire, that run is replaced; sound copper wire of the right size is normally reconnected to the new modules as it is.

Ask your electrician to open every board and look for blackened ends brittle insulation taped joints inside the box and one wire feeding many points. A switch board upgrade is the cheapest moment to fix these, because the plates are already off.

Also check that each point has an earth wire. Old 2 pin points often have none, and a new 3 pin socket without an earth connection is not safer than the old one. For heavy loads, the socket rating matters as much as the wire: our guide to 6A vs 16A sockets explains which appliance goes on which.

Replace old switch board with modular: which room first

When you replace old switch boards with modular ones in stages, start with any board that shows a safety sign, then the kitchen and bathrooms where the heavy loads and water are, then the bedrooms with ACs, then the living room, and finish with passages, balconies and the utility area.

The kitchen and bathrooms carry the 16A and 32A loads, the bedrooms need fan regulators and an AC point, and the living room is where a matching finish shows most.

Count the modules for each board

Every board is sized by what it holds. In our KEMPS range a 1 way switch or 2 way switch is 1M, while a 6A socket a 6A and 16AX universal socket a fan regulator and a 32AX DP switch are each 2M.

Our KEMPS Orchid modular plates are made in 1M 2M 3M 4M 6M 8M horizontal 8M square 12M and 18M. If your count falls between two sizes, go up one and fill the gap with a blank plate (KEMPS K218, printed ₹24), leaving room for a USB socket later.

Cost to change switch board to modular: a worked 2BHK

At our printed MRPs, changing every switch board in a typical 2BHK to KEMPS modular costs ₹6,302 for the parts: ₹4,190 of modules, ₹1,402 of Orchid white plates and ₹710 of concealed boxes, across seven boards and 36 modules. Installation labour, wire and wall repair are not included.

The modules used: KEMPS Orchid K141 10AX 1 way switch ₹65, K192 6A 3 pin socket with shutter ₹110, K193 6A and 16AX universal socket ₹205, K213 4 step fan regulator ₹405 and K156 32AX DP switch with indicator ₹410.

Living room, 8M 4 × K141 (₹260) + K213 (₹405) + K193 (₹205) = ₹870; plate ₹290; box ₹130. Each bedroom, 6M 2 × K141 (₹130) + K213 (₹405) + K192 (₹110) = ₹645; plate ₹230; box ₹118. AC point, 2M K156 ₹410; plate ₹102; box ₹50. Kitchen, 6M 2 × K141 (₹130) + 2 × K193 (₹410) = ₹540; plate ₹230; box ₹118. Each bathroom, 4M 2 × K141 (₹130) + K156 (₹410) = ₹540; plate ₹160; box ₹88.

What the total leaves out

The ₹6,302 covers parts only. Four things sit on top of it.

Labour is quoted by your electrician; we do not price it. Wire and conduit are needed only where a run is replaced. Plaster and paint follow the concealed route, not the surface one. MCB board work comes next, if the check finds old fuses.

On the other side, MRP is a ceiling: dealers commonly sell below the printed price, so the parts bill is usually lower than the sum shown. Finish is the other lever. The same 6M Orchid plate is ₹230 in white and ₹410 in texture (K305), so choosing texture for every board in this example would add ₹1,138 across the seven plates (₹2,540 against ₹1,402).

Should you check the MCB and RCCB at the same time?

Yes, check the MCB board while the switch boards are being changed: if the house still has rewirable fuses, no RCCB, or one MCB feeding the whole flat, the electrician is already on site and the circuits are already being traced, so upgrading the protection costs one visit instead of two.

Look for rewirable fuses no RCCB one breaker for everything and an AC or geyser sharing a light circuit. The usual fix is an MCB per circuit in a distribution board, with an RCCB to trip on earth leakage. Which rating suits each circuit is covered in which MCB for home.

From our range, the VIYONA 10 kA MCB 401 single pole (6A to 32A) is ₹145 and the 411 double pole is ₹350, made to IS/IEC 60898-1. For a modular board, KEMPS K225 and K226 are single and double pole MCBs. A VIYONA 6 way double door distribution box (382) is ₹880.

Doing it with an electrician: the order of work

A whole-house upgrade is a job for a licensed electrician, not a weekend DIY project. A sensible order of work on each board:

Loose terminals are the commonest cause of a hot switch, so every screw is tightened on the conductor, not the insulation. And box level and height are set before plaster, because a crooked concealed box cannot be corrected by the plate. A single faulty switch later is just a one-module swap.

Choosing a range and finish for the whole house

We make three ranges. KEMPS and VIZA are our modular switch, socket and plate ranges; VIYONA is our everyday range of switches, MCBs, distribution boxes and accessories. Use one plate family across the house so every board matches, and change the finish, not the range, where you want a room to stand out.

Our plates are UV-protected and do not turn yellow, carry a 5-year warranty, and are compatible with all major modular switch systems. In the worked example, a K305 6M Orchid plate is ₹230 in white, ₹350 in K-grey, ₹365 in metallic and ₹410 in texture.

See the KEMPS modular range and VIZA modular range for every design.

Buying the parts for a whole-house upgrade

Take the board-by-board list, with codes, to a dealer. We do not sell online: customers buy through our 500+ dealers across India, by phone, or by visiting us in Mumbai. Our contact page has the details.

Before you order, check three things: module count per board box type, concealed or surface and rating per socket. Buy one spare 1 way switch and one spare socket with the order; matching modules make a later repair a simple module swap.