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RCBOs in Malaysia: 10mA for water heaters, 1P+N versus 2-pole, and how the brands compare

An RCBO is a residual current breaker with overcurrent protection: one device that trips on overload and short circuit, like an MCB, and on earth leakage, like an RCCB. On a Malaysian board it lets one circuit have its own leakage protection, so a fault trips only that circuit instead of a shared RCCB taking out half the house.

The question Malaysians ask about RCBOs is most often the water heater. The Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga, ST) requires leakage protection of 10mA or less on water-heater circuits, and an RCBO is one accepted way to provide it. Which RCBOs are actually on the makers’ Malaysian lists at 10mA, and in what form, varies a lot by brand.

The ratings on an RCBO

An RCBO label combines an MCB’s ratings with an RCCB’s, so check each one separately:

  • Rated current and curve, such as C20: the overcurrent setting, read as on an MCB. 20 is the rated current; C is the trip curve.
  • Sensitivity, such as 10mA (0.01A): how much leakage to earth trips it. A trip-time marking like “t ≤ 0.1s” is not a sensitivity, and a “10A” in a quote is often a mix-up for 10mA. Our water heater guide explains label-reading.
  • Residual type: Type AC detects ordinary AC leakage; Type A also detects pulsating DC leakage that electronics can produce.
  • Breaking capacity, such as 6kA or 10kA. Some datasheets and listings also quote a higher industrial (IEC 60947-2) figure; compare like with like.
  • Poles: 1P, 1P+N or 2P. “1P+N” conventionally means one protected pole plus a neutral, and Malaysian sellers often list 1P+N RCBOs as “2 pole”. Order by the code, not the pole wording in a listing.
  • Voltage dependence: a datasheet citing IEC 61009-2-1 means a voltage-independent RCBO; IEC 61009-2-2 means voltage-dependent, which may not trip if the neutral is lost. A document citing only IEC 61009-1 doesn’t settle it.

What Malaysian rules ask for on a water heater

ST’s water-heater guideline (GP/ST/No.6/2016) and its domestic wiring guide set out the circuit:

  • a dedicated circuit with an MCB and RCD in series, the RCD at 10mA or less; MCB–RCD combinations such as RCBOs are acceptable, and so is an RCCB plus an MCB;
  • a 2-pole RCD on a single-phase heater circuit, and a 4-pole one on three-phase;
  • a minimum device rating by heater power: 16A up to 2,856W, 20A up to 3,570W, 25A up to 4,462W and 32A up to 5,711W, all on 4mm² cable. The breaker must never be rated above what the cable can carry;
  • an RCCB or RCBO that is ST-approved and carries the ST-SIRIM label.

So a 25A device covers heaters up to about 4.46kW, and a 4.46–5.71kW heater needs at least 32A.

ST’s guidelines don’t distinguish voltage-dependent from voltage-independent devices. Some Malaysian electricians avoid voltage-dependent RCBOs in homes, citing MS 1979, and some prefer a 2-pole 10mA RCCB plus an MCB because a proper 2-pole 10mA RCBO is hard to find and a separate RCCB shows whether a trip was leakage or overload. Both routes meet the 10mA rule. The water heater guide covers these arguments.

How the researched ranges compare

RangePoles10mA in Malaysian sourcesStandard cited
Schneider Easy9 RCBO1P+N, 18mm25A and 32A, Type A (its only two models)IEC 61009-2-2, voltage-dependent (datasheet)
Schneider Acti9 iDPN Vigi1P+N, one protected pole, 36mm10A and 16A, Type AEN/IEC 61009-2-1, voltage-independent (pages checked)
Schneider Acti9 iC60 RCBO2P with both poles protected (one 3P), 36mmnone: 30mA and 300mA onlyEN/IEC 61009-2-1
Schneider Vigi iC60 block on an iC60 MCB2P, 3P and 4P blocksone block: A9V10225, 2P 25A, Type ACIEC/EN 61009-1; pages say “voltage independent”
Maxguard ML32-1not stated in the catalogue (sellers say “2P”, “1P+N” or “1P”); 18mm (catalogue drawing)6–32A, B and C curve, Type AC and Type AIEC 61009-1 / 61009-2-2, voltage-dependent
Hager1P+N, 2 modules (AD9xxB); 1P, 1 module (ADC28x)none current: all 15 listed are 30mA Type AC; 10mA pages are marked spare part or obsoleteEN 61009-1 declaration (AD9xxB), which doesn’t settle it
Himel HDB9PLE1P+N, 2 modules (35.3mm)16–40A in Desea’s 2021 list and KVC (6–40A on Himel’s sheet), C curve, Type ACIEC/EN 61009-1; Himel calls it an “electronic type”
ABB DS201 and GSH2011P+None code: GSH201 AC-C25/0.01, 25A Type AC (KVC); no 10mA DS201DS201: IEC/EN 61009-1 per a Malaysian seller; GSH201 not established

The Vigi iC60 isn’t an RCBO on its own. It’s an earth-leakage add-on block that clips onto an Acti9 iC60 MCB; together they work like an RCBO. A9V10225 on a 2-pole iC60 is the one RCBO-type combination on Schneider’s Malaysian lists whose pages state 2-pole, voltage independence and 10mA together. It’s Type AC.

Neither Himel nor ABB publishes a Malaysian product list, so their rows come from a Himel catalogue sheet a Malaysian wholesaler hosts, Desea’s 2021 Malaysian list price and the catalogue of the distributor KVC. Neither brand has an RCBO on JKR’s eMAL approved list; both have approved MCBs and RCCBs.

What the table means for a water heater:

  • No researched RCBO in Malaysian sources states all of 10mA, two protected poles and voltage independence in one device. The iC60 RCBO has two protected poles and is voltage-independent but has no 10mA model; the iDPN Vigi is voltage-independent and 10mA, but has one protected pole (some pages call it “2P with 1 protected pole”) and goes only up to 16A, so it suits heaters under about 2.86kW.
  • 10mA Type A at 25A and 32A is on the lists as the Easy9 RCBO (EZ9D16625, EZ9D16632) and the Maxguard ML32-1 (R2501CA is the 25A C-curve Type A code, by our reading of the catalogue). Both are 1P+N or unstated, and both cite the voltage-dependent standard, so ask the supplier how the neutral is switched if your installer needs to show a 2-pole RCD.
  • Budget 10mA in Type AC is the Himel HDB9PLE, 16–40A in Malaysian distributor lists. It’s 1P+N, which sellers list as “2 pole”, and Himel calls it an electronic type, so the same neutral and voltage-dependence questions apply.
  • Hager’s current route to 10mA is one of its 2-pole 10mA RCCBs plus an MCB, not an RCBO. ABB’s more readily available route is the same: its 10mA RCBO, the GSH201 AC-C25/0.01, is in KVC’s catalogue but thinly listed in shops, while the 2-pole 10mA F202 AC-25/0.01 RCCB is easy to find.
  • For 4.46–5.71kW heaters, the 32A RCBOs on these lists are the Easy9 RCBO EZ9D16632, a 32A Maxguard ML32-1 and Himel’s HDB9PLEN40C32L (Type AC); the researched RCCB route is Hager’s 40A CCA540D with a C32 MCB.

The 30mA RCBOs in these ranges (Hager’s whole current list, most of the iC60 and iDPN Vigi references) suit socket and appliance circuits that need 30mA, not water heaters.

What they cost

We don’t have shop prices for the same rating across all the brands, so these figures aren’t a like-for-like comparison:

  • Maxguard 20A 10mA RCBO: about RM66–103 at most Shopee and Lazada stores in Type AC, and RM169 at one store for Type A (Maxguard page).

  • Schneider: the 2021 Malaysian list price for the 25A Easy9 RCBO EZ9D16625 was RM272.30 before trade discounts. The Vigi iC60 page compares Schneider’s 25A 10mA routes on that list, from the Easy9 RCBO up to about RM1,336 for an iC60 2P MCB with the A9V10225 block.

  • Hager: Shopee listings for a 25A 10mA Type AC “ACC125” RCBO, a code with no Hager Malaysia page (the nearest Malaysian page, ACC225P, is marked spare part), were RM320, and RM360 at one sold-out store; see the Hager RCBO page.

  • Himel: the HDB9PLE 10mA was RM71.80–133.54 in listings that name it in October 2026, mostly RM71.80–95; the Himel-named marketplace stores listed it from RM91.14, up to RM184 for a 16A (Himel RCBO page).

  • ABB: the 10mA GSH201 AC-C25/0.01 was RM134.40 on Focus Electrical’s online shop and RM160.20 at one Kuala Lumpur Shopee store; a 30mA DS201 C25 was RM362.60 at two sold-out listings (ABB RCBO page).

Group members reported paying RM50–80 for a 10mA RCBO at hardware shops. A listing shows what a seller advertises, not confirmed stock.

Ordering

Ask for the exact code, the sensitivity and the type (AC or A), not “2 pole RCBO for water heater”: listings sold for water heaters sometimes turn out to be 30mA, and pole descriptions vary between sellers for the same device. Check the ST-SIRIM label on the unit. The family pages above list Malaysian sellers for each range, and the brands guide covers what electricians say about the brands.

Ranges across brands

Related reading

All research →