How To Install A Ceiling Fan

“Old is Gold”, it is an old saying. It however holds a lot of relevance even today. No matter how many new technologies come up to cool our rooms during the summer seasons and to warm them up during the winter season, nothing can sway away the humble fan out of the market. Fans have two-fold benefits, in winter season it can be used to circulate hot air making the room warm and during summers it can be used to circulate the cool air of the AC. This will also cut down the load on your appliance like ACs and heaters. One can save a good amount of money by learning to install this all purpose appliance. Fixing appliances can be scary; especially the thought of getting an electric shock gets many people jittery. However, if you have little knowledge about your house wiring, and if you are good with hammers and drills, you can easily fix your new fan.  Reading through the sections below will give you step by step guidelines to fix a fan.

Installing A Ceiling Fan

Remove The Existing Fixture
In order to install the fan, you will have to remove the existing light or other fixtures first. Make sure that the main electricity circuit is turned off before you start to remove the fixture. To remove the fixture, unscrew the nuts or screws that are holding the fixture to the ceiling. Now lower the fixture carefully and disconnect the wires cautiously.

Remove Box And Cut New Hole
Once the old light fixture is removed; remove the old electricity box from the ceiling. Now hold a ½ inch thick pancake box against the ceiling and trace around it with a pencil. Cut along the traced line with a drywall saw to create a separate hole for the ceiling fan.

Attach New Electrical Box
Pass the electrical cables through the new hole made into the pancake box. Set the box firmly into the new hole and press it tightly against the underside of the beam. Use hex-head screws to fix the new electric box to the joist. Secure the screws by driving it in with the help of a drill. Now wrap the bare copper wire around the grounding screw inside the box, leaving the wire end to hang down.

Glue On The Ceiling Medallion
Apply little urethane based adhesive to the back of the ceiling medallion and then pass the wires through the medallion. Place the medallion at the centre of the pancake box and press it against the ceiling. Fasten the medallion with nails into the joist.

Mount The Ceiling Plate
Once the ceiling medallion is firmly attached, hold the metallic ceiling plate and pass the wires through it. Attach the ceiling plate to the box with the help of screws. If the medallion has to be painted, do it before placing the ceiling plate.

Assemble The Fan
Once all the settings on the ceiling are made, it is time to assemble together the fan parts. Feed the wires coming from the motor through the centre of the canopy of the fan. Now set the canopy on top of the motor and then pass the wires through the hollow down-rod pipe. Thread the pipe to the top of the motor by tightening the square-head locking screw on the side of the pipe.

Make The Wire Connections
Once you have attached the down-rod pipe, hook one side of the canopy to the ceiling plate. Now join the two green wires to the bare copper wires coming out of the cable and then join the two white wires and the black wires. Now swing the fan up to its position against the medallion and secure it with the canopy screws. Consult an electrician if your house has a different wire chain.

Attach The Blades And Lights
Once the fan is attached to the ceiling, fix each blade to the blade iron. Fasten the blade irons to the motor with the help of the screws provided. Now plug in the fan’s light-fixture housing into the wire hanging down from the motor. Install the shades and the light bulbs and then screw the plastic holder.