Which sockets are better Legrand Or Schneider © Legrand mosaic

The renovation of the rooms has been completed, are the walls looking freshly decorated? It's time for the finishing touches - install sockets and switches to make each room functional. Elektrovoz, a multi-brand supplier that has been operating on the domestic market for several years, will help you select products. Its assortment includes products from the popular company Schneider Electric. We are talking about the Asfora series - go to the catalogs at https://elektrovoz.com.ua/rozetki-i-vyklyuchateli-asfora-schneider-electric to view and order products.

Not only the German Schneider Electric was able to become an international supplier of sockets and switches. Products from the French company Legrand are no less in demand. Which brand should you prefer?

Brand overview

So, first, let's briefly talk about the main manufacturers of circuit breakers. As for foreign brands, the most famous are:

ABB. A Swedish-Swiss company that is rightfully considered a leader in the production of electrical products. Today, ABB circuit breakers are the highest quality, most durable and safe to use. As you understand, you will have to pay more money for such foreign products than for a domestic model. At the same time, the difference in price is small, so for home and apartment we recommend buying machines from the manufacturer ABB.

Among domestic manufacturers of automatic machines, the best quality is from such brands as:

KEAZ. The products of the Kursk plant are of average quality and about the same price. In the line of circuit breakers you can find a model for any rated current, at the same time the guarantee for the circuit breakers is 2 years, which additionally indicates the good reliability of the products.
I.E.K. A notorious, judging by reviews on thematic forums, is a Russian company that produces machines of dubious quality. The disadvantage of IEK products is that when the clamping screws are tightened, the plastic case may come apart. At the same time, the AVs hum, even if the load is far from critical. Despite their shortcomings, IEK circuit breakers are in high demand on the Russian and Ukrainian markets, which is due to the low cost of this manufacturer’s automation.
Contactor. The plant belongs to the Legrand company, so the quality of the products is an order of magnitude higher than that of other domestic brands. At the same time, the cost of Kontaktor automatic machines is approximately the same as that of products from European Union countries, therefore, it seems to us, it is better to already buy proven automatic equipment and be confident in its reliability.
DEKraft. A relatively young Russian company that produces electrical goods. The low cost justifies the not very good quality compared to global manufacturers. At the same time, decraft machines comply with all Russian standards and are even used in the construction of budget industrial facilities and mass housing.

I would also like to say a few words about products from China. Chinese circuit breakers EKF electrotechnica, whose direct competitors are IEK circuit breakers. Both companies have approximately the same price and similar quality. Oddly enough, China provides a 5-year warranty on its products.

Expert opinion

It-Technology, Electrical power and electronics specialist

Ask questions to the “Specialist for modernization of energy generation systems”

Guide to Legrand socket collections The mechanisms are available in 2 colors: white and aluminum, but electrical sockets can also be red, black, orange, green. Ask, I'm in touch!

Sockets in the bedroom near the bed

And a few more useful things and new products from Schneider Electric. Here is an example of a block that is ideal for placement near the bedside table.

What do you need here? In any case, this is a 220V outlet. Nothing surprising here.

This is the same outlet as before. You can find options for both screws and self-clamping versions.

The contacts are located at the top and are color coded.

If the socket is installed in the wall according to the inscriptions on the support, it will turn out that the zero will be on the left and the phase on the right.

Many electricians are used to it differently, but there is no mistake here. The most important thing is that all outlets in the house have a similar arrangement.

The calipers themselves are cast from Zamak alloy, a domestic analogue of TsAM.

The geometry is perfect, the frames are placed easily and clearly. At the same time, if necessary, the caliper can be purchased separately, and almost any mechanisms from another manufacturer can be installed in them.

Rating of the best manufacturers of automatic circuit breakers

It’s not worth talking about the manufacturer for a long time, Schneider Electric is one of the leaders in the electrical products market, and its electrical installation products are sold in all corners of the CIS and are known for their diversity, from super-budget “Hits” costing 35 rubles per switch to top-end “Odace” costing up to 3,000 rubles beyond the frame.

What kind of lighting do you prefer?

Built-in Chandelier

The new series is released under the slogan “Timeless Design” and there’s no arguing with that.

It has a strict square shape, but the products are available in as many as 10 colors! White, beige, aluminum, mother-of-pearl, champagne, mocha, stylus, emerald, steel, carbon (soft-touch).

Experienced electricians are already familiar with these mechanisms; they are used in the more expensive Schneider Glossa series; only the stamping on the back of the mechanism body differs.

The mechanism block is made of non-flammable (non-flammable) ABS plastic, which is significantly better than Chinese “ceramics” - pressed dust from production waste, glued with phenolic resins, absorbing moisture, dust and cracking when the contact is tightened. We see that the mechanism can be secured with both self-tapping screws and claws.

Made with high quality, we see standard “spring-loaded” contacts made of an alloy with increased conductive characteristics.

Contact with the wires is achieved thanks to lowering washers, preventing the conductor from twisting (as in Lezard Mira). Access to the screws is provided from the front plane, which is very convenient during installation.

We also see 10 amp mechanisms from the older Schneider Glossa. Having disassembled the mechanism, you can see that the contact pad of the switch has a pad made of a silver-containing alloy.

Recently, USB sockets have become a trend among many manufacturers. They are placed at home by the bed, in cafes at single tables. The socket has two outputs: 2A and 1A. However, there are some drawbacks; the cost of such a product, to put it mildly, is out of line with the general concept and amounts to 2,000 rubles, which is 25 times more expensive than a regular outlet.

Combined RG45 + TV socket. A brilliant solution that almost no one else has found. It is convenient to connect the TV to one outlet, saving resources and time on another box - an outlet.

To summarize, I really liked the series, inexpensive, beautiful, functional, available in ten colors. Has unique “highlights”. The quality is significantly higher than more expensive Chinese analogues. If you have a low budget and need to use a modular series, this is an ideal option!

Expert opinion

It-Technology, Electrical power and electronics specialist

Ask questions to the “Specialist for modernization of energy generation systems”

ABB and Legrand are the best circuit breakers. However, there are some drawbacks; the cost of such a product, to put it mildly, is out of line with the general concept and amounts to 2,000 rubles, which is 25 times more expensive than a regular outlet. Ask, I'm in touch!

Thermostat and climate control in the apartment

Another fashionable feature in modern housing is a lighting and climate control unit in the hall or living room.

It turns out that with a standard electrical installation product, you can easily control the microclimate in the apartment. This is realized through a compact thermostat.

A temperature sensor is mounted inside it. It can not only turn on-off. heating, but also in the hot summer period to control cooling devices and fans.

With such a thermostat, without any modular contactors, you can directly switch loads up to 8A. This is quite enough to open and close shut-off valve actuators in heating systems.

Often, thermostats for heated floors and other heating systems are purchased complete with these heated floors. As a result, they do not fit well into the design of the apartment.

And only then do people find out that it turns out they could buy sockets, switches and thermostats from the same collection. And everything would work perfectly and fit the interior of the room.

Therefore, such information must be conveyed to customers from the very beginning. In addition, such solutions, in addition to being beautiful, already allow you to save not only electrical, but also thermal energy.

Design features of Legrand sockets and switches

Economy – Cariva

Budget – Valena Classic and Etika

Interchangeable Valena Life and Valena Allure

Premium – Celiane

Comfort – Galea Life

For office and public places – Mosaic

For surface mounting – Quteo

Waterproof – Plexo

FAQ

Question No. 1. How can you get to the LED in the indicator switch?

Typically, to replace the LED element, you will need to separate the device into two halves by releasing the latches. After this, access to the LED will be open, which can be desoldered or removed by cutting the wiring.

Question No. 2. How to reassemble the switch?

Regardless of the model, the device is always assembled in the reverse order without any nuances.

Question No. 3. What to do if there are traces of oxidation on the switch contacts?

If the contacts are oxidized, they can be carefully cleaned. If there is melting of the terminals, the switch must be replaced - its further operation is dangerous!

For your attention, detailed step-by-step photo instructions for installing an external (surface) switch.

Electrical wiring for an outdoor switch can be laid either openly (in a cable duct, corrugation, or even just with a wire) or hidden (wires are located inside the walls). In this case, any of the existing connection diagrams can be used. We have already discussed this in some detail in the article “Wiring and connection diagram of the switch.”

For our example, we use the simplest connection diagram for a single-key switch, shown in the image below.

According to the diagram, external wiring is made, the cable is laid in a corrugated pipe, which is attached to the walls with clips.

Wall motion sensor

Motion sensors also provide this function.

Imagine a long passage room. Previously, the backlight in it was implemented on the principle of the same pass-through switches.

But there is a way to simplify and automate this process. Moreover, it will be automated in such a way that the light will turn on at the moment when two conditions are met at once:

low natural light

there is human movement

All this is regulated using a compact motion sensor, which is mounted in a standard frame and does not stand out on the wall.

It is manually adjusted to a certain light level. At the same time, it has a forced on/off button, regardless of whether it is light or dark around.

You can also connect a key to it remotely and turn on the light from anywhere.

The sensor can also be used in private homes - for example, to illuminate stairs. The question is, why do you need to manually set up such lighting through the walk-through switches on the first and second floors, if all this can be easily automated.

We stepped onto the first step and the light came on. We went upstairs and the light turned off on its own.

Connection

Basic Rules:

connecting electrical outlets of any type must be done when the power supply is turned off;
open wiring electrical cable must be laid in a special box or protective corrugation.

Video: how to connect an outlet.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:

de-energize the electrical wiring (by turning off the corresponding circuit breaker);
disassemble the socket;
place the base at the intended location and mark the holes for fasteners, usually there are two or four of them;
in the case when the installation is made on a wall made of brick or concrete, the marked holes are drilled and a plastic dowel is inserted into them. The base of the socket can be screwed to a wooden surface with self-tapping screws. If the wall is made of plasterboard, then a special plastic fastener is used - “butterfly”;

Butterfly fasteners for drywall and PVC

when the base is screwed, electrical wiring wires are connected to it; to do this, you will need to carefully break out the corresponding hole on the desired side of the box

The plastic in the place where the wires are supplied is thinner, so there will be no problems with this; we connect the wires to the terminals, the photo shows how double surface-mounted sockets are connected (pay attention to the correct polarity, especially for the ground wire, if any); How to connect a 2-gang socket

How to connect a 2-gang socket

How triple surface-mounted sockets are connected is shown in the figure below

Please note that the ground wire is not connected from socket to socket, but to each separately. A 4-socket outlet is connected according to the same principle;

Connection diagram for 3-socket outlets

after connecting the wires, the socket or group of sockets is assembled;
The power supply is turned on and the operation of the devices is checked.

As you can see, if certain safety rules are observed, overhead sockets can be connected without problems. Their cost in various regions of Russia is almost the same as in Moscow, so there is no point in citing it.

How to disassemble a Schneider Electric switch

The products of this manufacturer are highly reliable and it is possible that the reason for the lighting not working correctly lies in poor contact not inside, but on the terminals, which is what most often happens.

A special feature of these models is that the decorative trim is secured not using latches, but in the classic way, using a screw. To work you will need:

indicator screwdriver;
multimeter;
mounting screwdriver.

In order to get to the screws, you must first remove the keys; the screw holding the decorative cover does not need to be unscrewed, since access to the fixing petals is provided using mounting holes. Having loosened the petals, you need to pull the switch towards you.

It is enough to disconnect the line going to the lamp to check the functionality of the mechanism. First, check the presence of potential at the output terminals, using an indicator screwdriver, by turning on the switch.

Additionally, with the power off, you need to use a multimeter to “ring” each of the contacts in the on position. If there are no signs of failure in the switch and the contacts at the connection points are in normal condition, the fault should be looked for in the wiring or lamp.

Comments:

Frustrator

Schneiders are my favorite sockets. With any model there is no work, but only pleasure. All contacts, all terminals, bolts, nuts. Everything rotates, secures and latches perfectly. No Legrand was lying around

Danil

Frustrator, that's understandable. If you compare prices, you can't expect anything else. Schneider is more expensive than ABB and much more expensive than Legrand.

Schneider Electric Or Legrand Which is better Legrand plexo