One panel instead of five switches: living with a MixPad
What a wall panel replaces, what it does not, and the two settings worth changing in the first week.
As the UK partner for Orvibo, we fit more MixPad panels than any other control device. The pitch is simple: the plate that held five switches now holds a screen that runs the room.
What it replaces
Lighting circuits and their dimmers, the curtain remote you have lost, the thermostat on the hallway wall, the app you open to check a camera, and the second app you open for the speakers. All of it lands on one panel, wired into the wall, so nothing needs charging.
What it does not replace
It is not a television remote, and it will not fix a lighting layout that was wrong to begin with. If a room only has one central pendant, a panel gives you a nicer way to dim one bad light. The scenes are only as good as the circuits underneath them.
The two settings to change first
Rename the scenes to match your evening rather than the defaults, and set the screen to dim after dark. A panel at full brightness on a bedroom wall at midnight is the single most common complaint, and it is a thirty-second fix.
Buying one on its own
Every device we fit into a wall is also available to buy separately, with or without installation. If you are not ready for a wall, a panel and a couple of scene switches are a sensible first step.