A lot of us likes to use ceiling fan because of its energy saving features, plus it also creates cooling breezes especially during summer which reduces the strain of an air conditioner and during the winter, it can also keeps your room warm by circulating heated air. To assemble and install a ceiling fan and its accessories are a straightforward task and if there is an existing wiring from previous installation of mounted old fan or lighting fixture, it also involves basic knowledge in electrical wiring and mechanical skills. Below are some of the steps to install a ceiling fan.
What you need:
- Ceiling fan
- Mounting kit
- Swag kit (if applicable)
- 4-inch x 1 ½-inch octagon electrical box
- Cable
- Outlet box
- Switch
- Box connectors
- Wire nuts
- Switch cover
- Bonding screw
- Neon test light
- No. 2 Phillips screwdriver
- Claw hammer
- 3/16-inch slotted screwdriver
- Speed controller
- Pliers
- Wallboard or compass saw (if applicable)
- Soft cloth
- Ladder
- Wire-stripper or Cable-ripper
Method:
- First of all, you need to remove the old fixture before installing the new ceiling fan and also ensure that the main power supply has been shut off or you can also test using a circuit tester on the related fixture that you are working on. Then, you have to remove the mounting bolts and bring down the old fixture accordingly.
- You also need to disconnect the electrical wires such as the power wire (usually the black or blue coloured wire), the neutral wire (usually white coloured wire) and the ground or earth wire (usually comes in green colour or a bare copper wire). Always keep the wire nuts that hold the wires together as it can be reused for future usage. Make sure to check on the electrical box right after you have remove the old fixture and also the mounting point whether it is firmly anchored to the structural ceiling support or not because a ceiling fan is fairly heavy and it needs a very strong mounting point.
- After that, you have to attach a mounting bracket to the electrical box and ensure that all the screws are tight because if there is any loose attachment, it will make the fan to wobble and giving excess noise or wear. In order to work on the wiring, you can use the “working hook” provided on the mounting bracket for temporary hanging of the fan.
- The standard codes need to be adhered during attaching any electrical wires for easy referral and future maintenance. Usually the ground or earth wire for your house circuit should be attached directly to the junction box. You will need to loosen up the screw first before wrapping the ground wire around, and then tighten back the screw so that it can hold the ground wire. Make sure to securely cover the power connections (black and white wires) using a screwed-on wire nut. To make it look tidy, try to keep all the extra wiring out of the way by pushing them up into the electrical box.
- The next step is to attach the fan motor to the mounting bracket using the screws provided together with the fan. To make sure that the connections you make are good, turn on the power and also switch on the wall switch, plus the pull-cord of the ceiling fan must be set to the “On” position. Then, turn off the power and continue to attach on the decorative motor cover and also the fan blades onto its respective mounting bracket.
- After you have finished assembling all the blades, turn back the power on for testing the fan and check whether it wobbles or gives excessive noise. If this type of problem occurs, you can push the unit gently until it hangs on the right level or if you purchase expensive fans, you can rectify it using its balancing kit which normally uses small weights to even out the fan\’s rotation.
Additional Reading:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,453858,00.html
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/installceilingfan
http://www.ehow.com/how_17684_install-ceiling-fan.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmommaerts/3666726541/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/julep67/26220400/
