C2E616402_MB_C1 Schneider Electric Cuadro H 8-Gang Metal Front Keypad Black Bus Node SELV ETS 86mm

The C2E616402_MB_C1 is the most capable non-glass keypad in the Cuadro H family, combining eight gangs on a metal faceplate. The article number encodes its configuration: 402 denotes eight gangs, 02 indicates a metal faceplate, MB specifies the black finish, and the only eight-gang glass plate in the same colour carries the number 403.

Beneath the plate sits the shared bus node — a design choice that matters on multi-room projects, as a single spare unit can serve several rooms. The device operates on KNX TP supply at 21 to 30 V DC, drawing approximately 13 mA at 24 V. It features an integrated coupling unit and a two-core connector (red to positive, black to negative). There is no mains terminal, so the plate carries no load rating; controlled loads reside on actuators elsewhere on the line. The physical envelope measures 86 × 86 × 29 mm.

Eight gangs provide sixteen operations with short and long presses — more than a typical room requires, and exactly enough to be filled poorly without discipline. The approach that works is a fixed functional order duplicated across rooms of the same type, each gang recorded against its group address, and spare gangs labelled as spare rather than improvised at handover.

On this variant the metal front must also be declared in ETS: proximity detection is microwave-based, sensitivity is tied to the panel material, and the material plus one of two sensitivity levels is configured in ETS. A steel or aluminium face configured as plastic will sense at the wrong distance.

Because the front is metal, the SELV requirement to maintain basic insulation to the retaining ring is a physical constraint. In a multi-gang frame with 230 V accessories, the separation of bus and mains wiring is the installer's responsibility — including insulating the shield, the stability wire, and the white and yellow cores.

The eight-gang metal plate belongs in rooms that genuinely carry a complex scheme: hotel ballrooms and function suites, boardrooms, control rooms, and principal living rooms in high-end residential work. In all of them, the entrance position must reach several lighting groups, the blinds, a scene recall, and a master off — and the plate is expected to look like hardware rather than a switch.

• Hospitality: The metal version is normally specified for public rooms where the wall is timber or stone and the plate is seen at close range, while guest rooms take a smaller gang count.
• Boardrooms: Chosen because lighting, blinds, and presentation state are all operated from one place, and the metal front matches the table trim.
• Residential: Appears where the client has requested metal throughout and the lighting is designed in layers rather than switched in groups.