Everything You Need to Know to Install a Ceiling Fan

A ceiling fan can make your home feel so much more comfortable, just by moving air around. Whether you use it in the winter to push warm air back down from the ceiling, or in the summer to beat the heat, a ceiling fan can save you a ton of money and cut your energy consumption. It’s not hard to install one yourself, either. Here’s everything you need to know to pull it off.

You Will Need Some Tools

You’ll need: a screwdriver, a step ladder, a measuring tape, a wire stripper, a hammer, needle-nosed pliers, a nut driver, a wrench set, a pry bar, and a voltage tester.

You might also need a two-foot level if your ceiling has a slant at all. Grab some wire connector caps to secure your wiring connections.

You Should Start by Turning Off the Circuit

Installing a ceiling fan is an electrical job, so you need to turn off power to the circuit before you start. That way you won’t get shocked.

Use the Level to Measure Your Ceiling Pitch

If your ceiling is slanted at all, you’ll want to use a two-foot level to determine how steep the slant is. Hold the level up to the ceiling, and measure the distance between the top of the level and the ceiling.

Divide that number in half to determine how far the ceiling drops for every 12 inches. Then you can decide how long of a down rod you need to keep your fan at least 18 inches from the nearest wall and at least eight inches from the ceiling.

Read More: How To Put Ceiling Fan

Take Down the Old Light Fixture or Fan First

If you don’t already have a fan or fixture in place, you’re going to need to call an electrician to run the wiring for your new ceiling fan. Otherwise, you’ll need to take down the old fixture.

Remove a light fixture by taking off the bulb cover, removing the bulbs, and unscrewing the screws securing the base of the fixture to the junction box in the ceiling. Then you should be able to pull it down and disconnect the wiring.

To take down an old ceiling fan, you’ll need to take the blades off first – otherwise it’s too unwieldy. Then you can loosen the canopy, disconnect the down rod from the mounting plate, and undo the wiring connections to remove the fan. Remember to take down the mounting plate, too.

You Might Need a New Junction Box

If you’re replacing a light fixture, you’ll probably need a new junction box in the ceiling. A light-rated junction box can’t hold the weight of a ceiling fan, so you’ll need to put in a fan-rated box.

Ideally, there will be a ceiling joist right above the hole in your ceiling, so you’ll just pry the old junction box off the joist and attach the new fan-rated electrical box to the joist using the screws that come with it.

If there isn’t a joist, you can install a metal fan brace between the joists on either side of the hole. These dig into the wood of the joists on either side, providing a secure anchor for a fifty-plus-pound ceiling fan. Once you have installed your junction box, you’ll need to attach the new fan’s mounting plate to the junction box.

Put Together the New Fan on the Floor

Put together the motor for your new ceiling fan with a remote on the floor. It shouldn’t require too much assembly. You’ll have to attach the down rod, if there is one, to the top of the motor housing, or attach the fan canopy directly to the top of the motor if there isn’t a down rod. You’ll have to pull the wires from the top of the motor housing up through the down rod or fan canopy.

Read More:  Types of Fan: Choosing the Right Cooling Device for Your Needs

Wiring Up a Ceiling Fan Is Surprisingly Simple

Once you get up on your step ladder, you should be able to hang the fan motor from a hook on the mounting plate so you can hook up the wiring. Sometimes, you’ll just place the ball at the end of the down rod into the slot on the mounting plate.

Connecting the wiring is pretty simple. You should have a black, green, and white wire coming out of your ceiling. The black wire is hot, the white is neutral, and the green is ground (sometimes this one will be completely bare copper).

Your fan should have all those colors and may have a blue wire too – this is for the lights, and you’ll connect it to the two black wires (so there will be three wires in that configuration. You will connect the ground wires together, wrapping the ceiling one around the ground screw in the electrical box first.

Connect the white wire to the white wire and the black wire to the black wire. There are several ways to wire up a fan if you want to control it with a switch.

Attach the Blades After Securing the Fan Motor to the Ceiling

Once you have wired up the fan, you can tuck the wiring connections into the electrical box and secure the down rod to the mounting plate. Slide the canopy up and screw it into place.

Then you can attach the fan brackets and put the blades on the fan. Make sure the fan blades are all the same distance from the floor.

Finish by Hooking Up the Light Fixture

If your fan comes with a light fixture, you might need to connect it to the lamp wiring in the fan. Match colors together just like you did to connect the fan motor. Attach the glass bulb covers, add light bulbs, restore power to the circuit and try out your new fan.

Read More: Standard Ceiling Height For Your Home

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