How to Replace a Ceiling Fan

On a hot day, a ceiling fan can offer some welcome relief from the heat. A good ceiling fan will allow you to raise the air conditioner thermostat and save some electricity while staying comfortable. Like all fans, ceiling fans eventually stop working. When it is time to replace the old unit with a bright new one, you should consider this a job that you can do yourself if you have any ability at all.

Pick a new fan that matches the tone of the room where you will install it.

Ceiling fans come in a variety of styles and colors. Some have light kits attached, and some are fans only. You can get them with several shapes of blades, but most have the traditional shaped blades in natural wood or some other color. The metal can be a painted metal, brass, bronze, or possibly other types of metal surfaces. You can buy a ceiling fan with four, five, six, and possibly more blades. You can select the number of speeds you want available or wire them with a variable speed switch.

Start the job by cutting the power to the existing fan.

Remove any screws that hold the base of the fan to the ceiling. You should not have to remove the light kit or blades to do this. Because of the size of the fan, it might be wise to have a helper to hand the fan to when it is finally loosed from its moorings in the ceiling. Once the screws are out, the plate should drop down.

Make a note regarding how the wires from the fan are attached to the wires from your house.

If needed, label the house wiring so you can identify how it was connected later. This can be important if the fan and light are on separate switches. At this point, you can disconnect the fan wiring from the house wires.

Once the wires are loose, you should be able to lift up the fan and move the ball out of the socket that suspends the fan.

When the ball is out of the socket, it is time to lower the fan from the ceiling. If it has a light fixture attached, be careful not to drop it. Besides ruining the globes, it will make a terrible mess of glass to have to pick up from the broken globes and light bulbs.

Take time to read the directions that are specific for your new fan before beginning to install it.

You will need to pay special attention to the wiring configuration if the fan has a light kit. Depending on how your home is wired, the light fixture may need to be wired to come on and off with the same switch that powers the fan. If you have two switches for the fan, one will be for the fan motor and the other will be for the light. Getting these wires attached correctly is important for the fan to operate after the job is completed.

Assemble your new ceiling fan using the manufacturer's directions.

Once you have finished putting the fan and light fixture together, it is time to install it. The installation essentially should be the reverse of the process that you used to remove the old fan. Lift the fan until the ball fits into the socket above the ceiling. You may have to replace this fitting with the one that came with your new fan if it is significantly different. In many cases, this is not needed.

Once the fan is suspended from the ceiling, connect the wiring.

It should be a simple matter to follow the color patterns for the wires to make sure that the connections are made correctly. Use wire nuts to cover the wires to finish each connection. If the light is on the same switch as the fan motor, you will attach both sets of wires identically. For separate switches, the hot wires will be attached to the same power source. The ground wires will be connected to separate grounds that go through the switches.

Turn on the switch or switches to make sure that the fan works properly.

It is important to do this before the wires are hidden. If you have an issue with the fan or light not working properly, it is easier to fix if the wires are still exposed. Double check the wiring diagram that came with the fan to make sure that the attachments have been made correctly if the fixture does not work. After that, disconnect and reconnect all of the wires to make sure that you have a good connection.

When the fixture is functioning the way it is supposed to, it is time to wrap up the job.

Lift the cover plate into position and attach the screws to hold it in place. Once the decorative plate is attached to cover the wiring, the job is complete. As a final step, use a cloth and wipe away any dust and fingerprints to make the fixture look nice.