A lighted ceiling fan allows you to replace a standard light fixture.
If you're looking for a way to help make your home more energy-efficient, installing a ceiling fan can help accomplish that. A ceiling fan creates cool breezes in the summer and reduces the amount of time your air-conditioning unit is running. In the winter, the fan can drive the warm air that rises to the ceiling down toward the floor, keeping your house warmer. Some ceiling fan models come with light fixtures attached, which means you can replace an existing light fixture with a lighted ceiling fan, eliminating the need to run more wiring.
Instructions
1. Shut off the power to the existing at your main electrical box. Turn the light switch on and off to test the circuit.
2. Remove the cover or shade that covers the lightbulb on the fixture, then remove the bulb.
3. Unscrew the nuts or screws that hold the fixture to the ceiling and slowly lower the fixture.
4. Untwist the plastic twist-on wire connectors. Separate the wires on the lighting fixture from the wires leading from your main electrical box.
5. Remove the electrical box from the ceiling. If it's screwed to the ceiling joist, unscrew it. If it's nailed to the joist, pry it off with a pry bar.
6. Place a 1/2-inch deep pancake box against the ceiling, centering it over a joist. Trace the outline of the box onto the ceiling. Attach a cable connector to the pancake box. A pancake box is a round, narrow electrical box that can be used when you don't need a full-size electrical box.
7. Cut a hole in the ceiling with a drywall saw, following the tracing. Wear eye protection and cover your mouth with a mask or similar object to avoid breathing in the drywall dust.
8. Slide the electrical cables coming from the ceiling through the in the pancake box. The knockout hole is the small, recessed circle on the pancake box that is removed to allow electrical cable to go into the box. You can punch this out with a screwdriver or knockout hole punch. Run them under the cable connector and tighten the screw to keep the wires in place. Place the pancake box into the hole in the ceiling and attach it to the ceiling joist with the provided screws. If there is a bare copper (grounding) wire coming from the main electrical box, wrap it around the grounding screw in the pancake box and tighten the screw. Let the rest of the wires hang down.
9. Cover the hole in the ceiling from the old light fixture. You can either cut a piece of drywall to fit the hole and patch it into place, or you can install a ceiling medallion centered over the pancake box, which will cover the old hole.
10. Place the ceiling plate over the pancake box and pull the wires through the hole in the center of the pancake box. Attach the ceiling plate to the pancake box.
11. Lift the fan motor housing assembly to the ceiling so you can connect the wires. Ideally, you'd have an assistant to hold the housing assembly while you connect the wires, but if you don't, hang the canopy (the metal plate at the top of the assembly that covers the wires) over one side of the ceiling plate.
12. Connect the wires from the fan to the wires from the ceiling. Twist the bare ends of the wires together with the plastic connector caps. Connect the white wires to the white wires and the black wires to the black wires. If you have a grounding wire leading from the electrical box, connect that to the green wire from the fan housing.
13. Lift the canopy into position against the ceiling and screw it into place.
14. Attach the fan blades to the blade irons with the provided screws. The blade irons are the metal pieces that connect the fan blades to the motor housing.
15. Connect the light fixture housing to the wire leading through the fan, following the manufacturer's instructions.
16. Install the lightbulb and shade or cover, whichever is provided with the fan.
17.Restore power to the electrical circuit and test the fan.
Tags: light fixture, ceiling plate, from ceiling, hole ceiling, knockout hole, main electrical