An ordinary ceiling fan becomes extraordinary with LEDs.
A fan wired with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, is an exciting visual feature in a game room, rec room, or teenager's bedroom. While the fan cools the area with a gentle breeze, the LEDs spin to create a dancing circle of light in tandem with the swooshing rhythm of the fan blades. Different colored LED bulbs and creative grid patterns can create a spectacular look.
Instructions
1. Create a jaw-dropping ceiling fan with LED lights.
Turn off the breaker that sends power to the fan. Leave it off until it is time to test the lights.
2. The fan's motor will power the LED lights.
Prepare the fan motor. Remove the blades from the fan until it is stripped down to the canopy. The canopy is the housing that surrounds the motor. Snap off or unscrew the canopy using gentle pressure or a flat-head screwdriver. Disconnect all wires. Remove the motor from the rod or ceiling mount and place it to the side for later.
3. Create a stencil pattern for the fan blades. Trace the outline of the fan blade on a piece of plywood. Cut out the outline with a power saw to create the stencil. Draw the grid pattern for the LED lights on the stencil. Drill holes in the stencil where LED lights will go.
4. Create the grid pattern on the fan blades. Place the stencil over the blade and mark the grid pattern on the side of the blade that will face the ceiling. Drill the grid pattern into the blade. Repeat for each fan blade.
5. Choose LED lights to reflect the style of the room.
Attach the LED lights to the fan blades. Place the LED lights into the drilled holes. Secure the lights with instant glue.
6. Wire the LED lights. Solder resistors to the positive or longer end of the LED light. Solder the opposite end of the resistor to a common ground wire. Secure the common ground wire at the end of the fan blade closest to the motor.
7. Reassemble the fan by attaching the blades into the fan canopy. Attach the common ground wire to the blue wire in the fan motor. The blue wire is the wire for light kits. If other lighting is connected to the blue wire, reconnect the wire for that other lighting to the . The switch that powers the fan will control any other lighting this way. You can turn the LED lights on and off with the pull cord that dangles from the fan.
8. For a more intense effect, keep the LED lights on whenever the fan is in use by wiring the common ground wire to the fan motor's black wire. Follow the original instructions from the fan manufacturer to reinstall the fan in the ceiling.
Tags: common ground, common ground wire, grid pattern, ground wire, blue wire, other lighting, black wire