There are so many different types of wall switches on the market that it can be difficult to tell if they are good or bad quality based on the pictures on the website or their appearance. Of course, well-known brands are more reliable, but some niche brands also offer good quality and safety guarantees. In addition, different price points and ranges of wall switches will also have an impact on quality. The safety and durability of the wall switch are both issues that we have to take care of. How can we judge the quality of a wall switch when we’re shopping for one? We can analyze the difference between wall switches of different quality mainly from the viewpoint of their appearance, material and packaging.

I. Appearance of the wall switches

First, when we get a wall switch, we can start by looking at whether its surface is as smooth as new, whether there are any wear and scratches, whether the color difference will be very large, and whether the switch as a whole has a texture. Touch and hold the key buttons to see if they are smooth or jammed. In general, a high-quality wall switch will not have much color difference, and it will have a good texture and feel smooth to use. The qualified switch socket has a perfectly finished veneer plate, there are no burrs on the shell and its lever sides, and the socket size is asymmetric and uniform, while the poor quality socket has an almost complete shell.

At the same time, we can also judge the adequacy of the material used in the switch socket by its weight. Plugs that meet national standards generally have more copper wire, thicker copper plates, and tighter plastic casings, so they’re heavier, while unqualified plugs, which obviously cut corners, will feel much lighter. Therefore, we can try to weigh the wall switch to estimate whether it is genuine.

How to judge the quality of wall switches

II. wall switches material

We can also start from the key material to analyze, mainly for panel materials, seat back materials and interior materials.

1. Palette.

At present, the commonly used materials for panels are PC, rubber wood, and ABS materials.

1) PC: Shock-resistant, heat-resistant, flame-retardant and insulating, it is a more excellent material for switchboards.

2) Bakelite/Urea: With the advantages of good flame retardancy, easy coloring, stable product size, and bright colors, it is an increasingly popular material for manufacturing switchboards and sockets.

3) ABS material: heat resistance and impact resistance are much lower than PC and electrostatic jade powder, and the surface is prone to yellowing and cracking in long-term use.

2. The back

The material used for the back base is imported reinforced nylon and polycarbonate recycled material.

1) Imported reinforced nylon: flame retardant, insulation is better, wear resistance, impact resistance, high temperature does not deform, to ensure that the internal components will never fall off.

2) Recycled PC material: weaker impact and heat resistance, easily deformed.

3. Interior materials

1) Key carriers – fragments

The main materials used are brass, especially copper, bronze, tin, phosphorus and red copper.

Copper: bright yellow, hard texture, slightly less malleable, medium conductivity Tin-phosphor bronze: reddish yellow, hard, malleable and conductive better than brass Red brass: purplish red, slightly soft, good elasticity, conductivity higher than normal socket copper is 0.4-0.5 mm, easy to bend, while good socket copper has a thickness of 0.7mm, and is difficult to bend.

2) The key to communication materials.

3) What is the Contacts key? When we press the switch, we can all hear the sound produced by the contacts, which are two metal pieces or metal balls that make the sound. If the contacts are not secure enough, they are prone to arcing, causing a short circuit in the switch and a hazard. Therefore, the material of the switch contacts is especially important. The two main materials that are popular in the market at present are pure silver and silver alloys.

Pure silver has low resistivity, soft texture, low melting point, easy to oxidize, easy to produce arc, and burn wire or key components, resulting in poor energization. On the other hand, silver alloys have low resistivity, corrosion-resistant texture, high melting point and oxidation resistance, and are superior to pure silver in terms of overall performance.

III. Packaging for wall switches

Let’s take a look at the packaging again. In general, the packaging of qualified outlets must be complete with the manufacturer and product information and certification, and the materials used in the packaging must be solid and have a sense of design. Some non-qualified plugs have more crude packaging and are missing basic manufacturer and product information, especially production dates.

Therefore, we can simply judge the quality of the wall switches we buy by their appearance, material and packaging. The wall switch which has simple textured appearance, good material, thick and well packaged will greatly reduce the risk of using the switch and extend its life.