C2E616101_GY_C1 Schneider Cuadro H Twofold Bus-Fed KNX Switch Interface Grey Plastic 13mA ETS Ready Plate

The C2E616101_GY_C1 is the grey plastic two-gang keypad from the Cuadro H range, and its order code carries more information than most buyers realise. The digit in the third position from the end of the article number indicates the faceplate material: 01 is plastic, 02 is metal, and 03 is glass. A two-gang device therefore exists three times over in the same colour, with three different surfaces and three different weights on the wall.

This reference is the plastic version — the lightest of the three and the one that behaves most predictably with the microwave proximity sensor behind it, because a polymer face disturbs the sensing field far less than a metal plate does. The device carries two gangs of programmable buttons and an integrated bus coupling unit. It takes its entire supply from the KNX line at 21 to 30 V DC (approximately 13 mA at 24 V), so there is no mains connection, no neutral, and no load rating to reconcile.

Two details in the installation instructions deserve attention before the wall is closed.

The device requires a wall box of at least 35 mm depth, and the box is not included in the package. This is particularly important on refurbishment projects where existing boxes may be shallow.

The proximity function runs on microwave technology, and Schneider Electric states plainly that its sensitivity depends on the panel material, with the material and sensitivity level configured in the software. The same parameter set applied to a plastic plate and a metal plate will not behave the same way. Because this is the plastic variant, the material parameter must be set to plastic rather than left at a metal default, and the sensitivity then chosen as default or high according to how the room is used.

Commissioning is conventional: address and download through ETS, red programming LED during the transfer, green LED flashing slowly afterwards, and approximately ten seconds of initialisation.

A grey two-gang plate is the smallest sensible control point in a commercial building, and that is exactly where it earns its place.

• Hotel guest rooms — used at the entrance for general lighting and the bedside circuit, with the grey face blending into a warm neutral wall where a white plate would stand out.
• Cellular offices — applied where two circuits are sufficient and the budget per position is fixed.
• Residential corridors — used where the same plate is repeated at several doors.
• Bathrooms and dressing areas — two gangs cover the lighting and the extract fan without adding a second position.
• Retail back-of-house areas — specified because the plate is simple to operate and simple to replace.

On projects where the interior palette is warm grey, the plastic grey version is generally preferred to the white one. Where the same floor mixes plastic and metal plates, the difference in surface is visible at close range but not across a room.