Do it Yourself Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans today are designed to hook up directly to standard ceiling electrical boxes, in the same outlets that hold ceiling lights. In fact, the usual do-it-yourself method is to hang a fan in place of an existing light. This has the added advantage of providing an existing wall switch that will control the fan with no modifications necessary. If the ceiling electrical box isn't completely solid and immobile when you pull on it, have a contractor look at it before you proceed, as that may indicate it isn't properly mounted. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Stepladder
- Screwdriver
- Ceiling fan with light assembly
- Twist-on wire nuts
Instructions
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1
Cut power to the existing ceiling light fixture at the circuit box of the house.
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2
Remove the light fixture from the ceiling by removing the screws holding it there and disconnecting the wiring behind it. You should be left with an exposed ceiling electrical box and three wires hanging from it (white, black and a bare copper ground wire).
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3
Find the mounting bracket that came with your fan (it will be a flat metal disk about the size of the electrical box). Install the bracket onto the electrical box, using the screws that came with it.
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4
Connect the copper ground wire from the electrical box to the green ground screw on the mounting bracket, and tighten the screw.
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5
Put the fan together on the floor, following the instructions it came with. Don't attach the fan blades yet.
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6
Take the fan unit up the ladder, getting it close enough to the electrical box so you can connect the wires from the box to the wires from the fan.
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7
Hold the white wire from the fan and the white wire from the electrical box side by side. Screw a twist-on wire nut over them both at once. Repeat for the black wires from the box and the fan. If there's also a blue wire from the fan (for a light), connect it to the black wires.
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8
Lift the fan housing to the electrical box, tucking in the wires. Attach the housing to the box using the provided screws. Turn on the power at the house circuit box and test the motor. If it's working properly, turn it back off and attach the fan blades as instructed.
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