BTicino and Vimar switch plates: which to choose (and how much the price changes)

Switches and plates are the part of the electrical system you will see and touch every day for twenty years. They deserve a calm choice. We work with BTicino and Vimar, the two Italian reference brands: both reliable, both with a series for every budget. Below, the differences that really matter.

The series, from cheapest to most expensive

Series	Brand	Band	Who it is for
Matix	BTicino	low	rental flats, cellars, garages, anyone who wants to spend little without giving up the brand
Plana	Vimar	low	same role as Matix; square plates, many basic colours
Living Light	BTicino	medium	the "classic" series of Italian homes: soft keys, tech and metal finishes
Arké	Vimar	medium	clean design, slim plates, large keys; excellent with Vimar home automation
Idea	Vimar	medium	the historic Vimar series, with the round rocker key
Axolute	BTicino	high	glass, stone, wood and metal plates; for those who want a design object
Eikon	Vimar	high	premium finishes, Eikon Evo and Tactil with touch controls
Living Now	BTicino	the highest	full-plate key, built-in home automation (Living Now with Netatmo): the most expensive series of all

One clarification that avoids surprises: Living Now costs far more than all the others, because the mechanism and the key were redesigned from scratch and the automation is already inside. It is beautiful, but it must go into the quote with full awareness.

Colour changes the price, and not by a little

In every series, BTicino or Vimar, the white plate (or the basic anthracite/sand) is the list-price one. As soon as you move to a special colour or a metal, wood, glass or stone finish, the cost of a single plate can double or triple. A flat easily has 40-60 plates: the difference between white and a special finish shows on the total. Our advice: special finishes in the "showcase" rooms (living room, hallway) and basic plates in cellars, storage rooms and utility rooms. Nobody notices, your wallet does.

Materials and feel

• Technopolymer: light and tough, the material of the low and medium series. "Tech" or "metal" finishes are coatings on technopolymer.
• Real metal, glass, wood, stone: only in the high series (Axolute, Eikon, Living Now). You feel the weight and the coolness.
• Keys: the bigger the key, the easier the switch is in the dark and for children and the elderly. Living Now and Arké are the most comfortable.

What changes with home automation

If you want to control lights, shutters and climate from your phone or by voice there are two routes:

• "Native" automation: Living Now with Netatmo (BTicino) or View Wireless (Vimar). Installed like a traditional system, without bus cables; the controls talk to each other by radio. The simplest route for a flat being renovated.
• Bus system (BTicino MyHome, Vimar By-me, or KNX): a dedicated cable connecting everything, more flexible and suited to large houses and offices; it must be planned in the walls from the start.

In both cases the plates stay in the series you chose: automation does not force you to change the look. See also our guide home automation without rewiring.

How we choose together

At the site visit we bring samples of the most common series: touching them is worth a hundred photos. Then the quote has two separate lines: the base in white and the extra for colours and finishes, so you decide with the numbers in front of you. Plates can also be changed later without touching the wiring, if the mechanism is from the same series.