How do I Replace an Existing Ceiling Fan?
Installing a ceiling fan these days is a pretty easy task, as most of them are designed for do-it-yourself installation onto existing ceiling electrical boxes. It's doubly easy if you're replacing an existing fan, as opposed to a ceiling light, because you know the box is already properly secured and mounted to hold the weight of the fan. To make the project easier still, make sure the housing of the new fan covers at least as much as that of the old one, so you don't have to do any touch-up painting. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Turn off the electricity to the existing fan at the circuit box. Unscrew the screws around the perimeter of the fan canopy, which is the part that's against the ceiling. Lower the fan enough to disconnect the wiring, then take it down completely.
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2
Remove the mounting bracket of the old fan from the ceiling electrical box by taking out the screws holding the bracket in place. You will be left with an open electrical box and wires hanging down from it.
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3
Install the new mounting bracket from your fan unit onto the electrical box using the provided machine screws to connect it there. Connect the bare copper ground wire from the box to the green ground screw on the mounting bracket.
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4
Raise your fan, without the blades installed, up to the mounting bracket, setting in on the ladder close enough so you can connect the wires from the fan to the wires from the ceiling. Connect white to white and black to black, twisting wire nuts around them and wrapping the connections in electrician's tape. If there's a blue wire in the fan, for a light unit, wire it together with the black ones.
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5
Raise the fan to the ceiling, pushing the wire connections up into the box. Secure the fan unit to the mounting bracket using the provided screws. Install the fan blades as per the instructions. Turn on the power.
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References
- Photo Credit Ceiling Fan image by AJ Sellas from Fotolia.com
