Ceiling Fan Installation Steps

Ceiling fans come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be an attractive addition to any living space. Ceiling fans help you save money by helping your air conditioner and heater move air around. Ceiling fan installation is one of the most common do-it-yourself projects around the home and it's very easy to do. Here are the steps involved in a typical ceiling fan installation.

STEP ONE: As with all electrical projects, make sure the electricity is off to the area you are working in. Don't just turn off the light switch, turn off the circuit breaker and be sure to read your manufacturer's installation instructions before starting any project.

STEP TWO: Remove the old light fixture and cap off the ends of the wires for further safety. If the wires are damaged or broken, cut them back to get rid of the damaged area, then strip the ends. In the case of a brand new installation (where there was not a light fixture previously), prepare the wires by trimming the ends and then capping for safety.

STEP THREE: Attach the mounting bracket supplied by your fan manufacturer to the electrical junction box from your old fixture. This usually involves two screws on either side of the junction box. There may be differences in the types of brackets supplied, so be sure to check the instructions that were supplied by the manufacturer.

STEP FOUR: Connect the wires from the base of the ceiling fan to the wires in the electrical juunction box. Pay attention to the colors of the wires as they are meant to match (black wire to black wire, white wire to white wire, etc). If your ceiling fan has a light kit there might be an additional wire (probably blue) that you also need to connect. Check your instructions for connecting light kit wires.

STEP FIVE: After the electrical connections are complete, it's time to mount the ceiling fan to the mounting bracket. Depending on the type of installation, there are different ways to secure the fan to the mounting bracket. Check the instructions for the type of installation you are doing. In this example, we are doing a "Flush Mount" installation where the fan is directly mounted to the bracket.

STEP SIX: This is what a "Flush Mounted" ceiling fan looks like after attaching it to the mounting bracket. Flush mounted ceiling fans are typically used in areas where there is not enough headroom to hang down from the ceiling. If you have a high ceiling, you could choose to use a downrod to lower the ceiling fan, it's up to you!

STEP SEVEN: Now we need to install the fan blades. The first step is to attach the mounting hardware to the blades themselves. Pay close attention to the mounting instructions for this step as there are some models of fans that allow you to pick which side of the blade are viewed from below. Also, the blades may be curved or slanted by the hardware and could cause problems if installed incorrectly.

STEP EIGHT: Once the hardware is attached to the blades, the next step is to attach the blades to the fan body. Typically this involves two screws which attach the blade to the fan in a specific location around the center of the fan body. Again, there are different models of fans so you need to verify the blade attachment location in your instruction sheet.

STEP NINE:Here's what the fan looks like with all of the blades attached. It's a good idea at this point to rotate the blades by hand to check for any obstructions that may cause the blades to not rotate properly, and to check that the fan is not out of balance (if you used a downrod for your installation). If your fan does not have a light kit, you can stop here. Turn the circuit breaker back on and check the operation of the fan. Good job!

STEP TEN: Now we are ready to install the lit kit. Your ceiling fan comes pre-wired for a light kit which you can purchase from the manufacturer. In our example, there was a color-coded connector on both the ceiling fan and the light kit (see the photo at right). Make sure you connect this using the color code or you may accidentally cross wires and cause the light to not work. If your fan does not have a color-coded connector, you may have to strip the ends of the wires and connect them using a wire nut. Check your instructions for the proper procedure.

STEP ELEVEN: After making your electrical connections to the light kit, you have to mount the light fixture to the bottom of the ceiling fan. Use the hardware provided by the manufacturer and attach the light kit to the bottom of the ceiling fan. This is also a good time to install the light bulb as the next step is to install the cover.

STEP TWELVE: The next to the last step is to install the cover for the light kit. The cover attaches to the bottom of the light kit using the hardware provided by the manufacturer. Since there are many varieties of light kits, be sure to check the instructions provided by your manufacturer. Make sure you align all of the screw holes before starting, and be careful not to drop any screws!

FINAL STEP: Congratulations! You are finished with your ceiling fan installation. Now you can restore power to the fan and check out the operation.