Himel HDB9PLE RCBO: the 10mA water-heater option, what 'electronic' means, and Malaysian prices

The HDB9PLE is the Himel RCBO you’re most likely to meet in a Malaysian shop, usually the 10mA version sold for water heaters. An RCBO combines an MCB’s overload and short-circuit protection with an RCCB’s earth-leakage protection in one device. This one is 1P+N: one protected pole with a switched neutral, two modules wide.

Himel has no Malaysian product website. The ratings below come from two pages of Himel’s catalogue that the Semenyih wholesaler Energy Option hosts on its HDB9PLE page (PDF, created May 2021). Malaysian distributor lists carry fewer of them: KVC’s catalogue, as of 8 October 2026, has the 10mA codes at 16, 20, 25, 32 and 40A, and Desea’s Malaysian 2021 list price had 20–40A at 10mA and 20 and 32A at 30mA. The table marks the seven ratings that appear only on Himel’s sheet.

What the catalogue says

• Poles: 1P+N.
• Ratings: 6, 10, 16, 20, 25, 32 and 40A, all C curve, which Himel describes as a magnetic release operating between 5 and 10 times the rated current.
• Sensitivity: 10mA (codes ending L) or 30mA (ending S). HDB9PLEN40C25L is 25A 10mA.
• Type: AC. The sheet’s heading reads “Electronic type: AC”.
• Breaking capacity: 6,000A.
• Standard: IEC/EN 61009-1, with CB, CE and TÜV marks.
• Size: 35.3mm wide (2 modules), for cables up to 25mm².
• Durability: 10,000 electrical and 20,000 mechanical operations; IP20.

Three things to know before buying one for a water heater

It’s 1P+N, not a 2-pole RCBO. Sellers list it as “2 POLE” or “2 Poles”, but the catalogue says 1P+N. The Energy Commission’s water-heater guideline (GP/ST/No.6/2016) asks for a 2-pole residual current device on a single-phase heater circuit. Some installers accept a 1P+N RCBO that switches the neutral, and others won’t. Ask yours before you buy, and if they want two protected poles, the alternative is a 2-pole 10mA RCCB plus an MCB.

It’s an electronic RCBO. Himel calls the HDB9PLE an “electronic type” and cites only IEC 61009-1, which doesn’t say whether a device is voltage-independent. Electronic residual-current sensing normally needs supply voltage to work. The sheet doesn’t say how the device behaves if the neutral is lost. ST’s guidelines don’t distinguish voltage-dependent from voltage-independent devices, but some Malaysian electricians avoid voltage-dependent RCBOs in homes. If yours does, ask the supplier.

It’s Type AC only. We found no Type A HDB9PLE code in Malaysian sources. Marketplace listings also show another Himel RCBO series, HDB3LE (for example a 1P+N 30mA and a 4-pole HDB3LE4C10), which we haven’t researched. If you want Type A at 10mA, the researched options on other brands’ Malaysian lists are Schneider’s Easy9 RCBO and Maxguard’s ML32-1.

Ratings for heaters follow the guideline’s table: 20A up to 3,570W, 25A up to 4,462W and 32A up to 5,711W. The 32A and 40A 10mA codes cover larger heaters. Our water heater guide covers the rules in full.

Not on JKR’s approved list

JKR’s eMAL approves Himel MCB and RCCB models but no Himel RCBO, as of 8 October 2026. That matters for government projects, not for a house. What matters for a house is the ST-SIRIM label on the unit, which listings claim (“SIRIM approved”) but which you should check on the device.

Prices in Malaysia

Marketplace store prices for the 10mA version, as of 8 October 2026, found through BigGo Malaysia. Listings show what sellers advertise, not stock.

Listings that name the HDB9PLE (by code or as Himel’s “9 Series”), or describe it as 1P+N 6kA 10mA:

• RM71.80–74.90: KJE Store (Selangor), 20A and 40A, “1P+N 6KA 10mA”.
• RM75: LH EStore (Kelantan), HDB9PLEN40C25L, sold out.
• RM82.80: King Power (Kedah), HDB9PLEN40C25L.
• RM91.14: the Lazada store named “Himel”, “9 Series … 1P+N 10mA AC-Type”. The Shopee store named “Himel Malaysia” (Kuala Lumpur) listed RM91.14–184 depending on rating, with RM184 shown for the 16A.
• RM133.54: HSE_Retail and Cupex Online (Selangor), HDB9PLEN 40A, sold out.

Himel 10mA RCBO listings that don’t name the series: RM68 (Apiconts20, Kelantan, 25A, “(2 POLE) for water heater”), RM82.90 (W.PlusV, Pahang, 20A) and RM84–95 (Ezy Electrical & Hardware, Kedah, 25A, in a listing that also offers EPS and UMS). One Kedah store’s RM128 “Himel RCBO 25A 1P+N 10mA (1MODULE)” is a one-module device, so it isn’t the two-module HDB9PLE.

Most listings sit at RM71.80–95, a little above the RM50–80 that Malaysian group members report paying for a 10mA RCBO. The RCCB route costs about the same: a Himel 2P 25A 10mA RCCB was RM50–62.55 (see the RCCB page), plus a 1P 25A HDB3wHN MCB at roughly RM6–10 (see the MCB page). Desea’s 2021 dealer list price was RM156 for each of the six HDB9PLEN codes on it.

Where to find it

• Energy Option, Semenyih, has the HDB9PLE series page and the catalogue PDF.
• KVC lists the 10mA codes at 16, 20, 25, 32 and 40A, with prices for signed-in accounts.
• EcoPower Sibu advertised stock of the HDB9PLEN C20 (10mA) on Facebook in late September 2026.
• The Shopee store named Himel Malaysia and the Lazada store named Himel.

The Himel brand page lists the other stores we’ve profiled that carry Himel, and the RCBO category page compares the HDB9PLE with the Schneider, Maxguard, Hager and ABB RCBOs.