A few notes on ceiling fan wiring
Wiring a ceiling fan is surprisingly simple. Often
times it is no more complicated than the wiring of a
light fixture. As with any electrical wiring, make sure
all wire connections are made securely with the proper
size wire nuts, that they are not loose and that no
copper strands are showing. Most "house wiring"
should be 14 or 12 gauge solid copper wire attached
to a 15 or 20 amp 120vAC circuit respectively. Consult
a professional if you encounter something varying from
this and are not aware of how to safely handle it.
Most commonly ceiling fans will have 4 wires, or 3
wires plus a ground. Black, white, green, and an additional
color (usually red, blue, or black/white striped). The
black wire is the hot lead for the fan motor. The red/blue/striped
wire is the hot lead for the optional light kit. The
white wire is the neutral lead for both the fan motor
and light kit. The green wire is ground for the entire
assembly.
In all cases the neutral (white) wire from the fan
assembly should be attached to the neutral (usually
white) lead from the house wiring. Note that if you
encounter a white wire with a marking piece of colored
tape attached, this could be used to signifiy it is
being used as something other than a neutral.
The ground (green) wire or wires from the fan assembly
should be attached to the ground (usually bare, sometimes
green) lead from the house wiring. Some older houses
may not have a separate ground lead and use the metal
conduit and electrical boxes as ground. In this case
you would attach the ground wire from the fan to the
electrical box (and/or mounting plate) with the appropriate
screw or clip.
As for the two hot leads . . .
Example 1: Replacing a light fixture with a fan, and/or
installing a fan where there is only one switch
The black wire from the fan would be connected to the
hot lead (usually black, sometimes red) from the house
wiring. If the fan has a light the red/blue/striped
wire would ALSO be connected to the hot lead from the
house. If not then this wire would be capped off, should
you chose to connect it (and make easier the option
of adding a light later) make sure it is capped off
in the fan's switch housing. In this example both the
fan and the light would be controlled by the previous
light's wall switch.
NOTE: examine the wires inside the electrical box.
Is there an additional wire, presumably a black or a
red? There is possibly another hot wire, unswitched,
that would allow the fan's light to be controlled by
the wall switch and the fan to be controlled by it's
pullchain. In most cases you would connect the black
wire from the fan to the black wire(s) in the outlet
box, and the red/blue/striped to the red wire from the
house. HOWEVER this can vary due to your house's wiring,
so do not make any attempts unless you are sufficiently
comfortable working with electricity.
Example 2: Installing a fan to a box already wired
for one, where there are two switches
Some newer homes come pre-wired for fan-light combinations,
and offer two separate wall switches: one for the light,
and one for the fan. In this case you would connect
the black wire from the fan to hot (black) lead from
the house wiring, and the red/blue/striped wire from
the fan to the additional hot (red) lead from the housing
wiring. This should allow you to switch the fan and
light separately. Should you chose to install a fan
without a light, cap off both red (blue etc) wires,
or connect them and make sure the light lead is capped
off in the fan's switch housing.
Example 3: Installing a fan where there is NO switch
Connect the black wire from the fan to the hot (black)
lead from the house wiring. If the fan has a light,
connect the red/blue/striped wire to the hot (black)
lead from the house wiring as well. Both the fan and
light are to be controlled from their appropriate pullchains.
Example 4: Installing a fan with a remote
Remote controlled ceiling fans only have one hot lead
for both the light and fan, as they are controlled internally
by the remote receiver. In the cases of Examples 1 and
3 above, the fan would be wired as stated ignoring all
references to a red/blue/striped wire. As in example
two, only one of the two wall switches would be needed.
You would connect the hot lead from the fan to either
of the hot leads from the house wiring, and cap off
the other.
In any case where a fan motor is controlled independently
from a wall switch (such as Example 2 above, or Example
1 where there is no light kit) the wall switch can be
replaced by a fan speed control to allow more diverse
operation of the fan from the floor level. If both the
fan and light are wired to the same wall switch a speed
control should not be used.
Subsequently, when a fan light is controlled independantly
by a wall switch (Example 2 above, or as covered in
the additional note to Example 1) and incandescent bulbs
are used, the wall switch could be replaced by a dimmer
switch to allow more diverse control of the light. DO
NOT under ANY cirumstances allow a fan motor to be controlled
by a dimmer switch.
Lastly, optional kits are available to convert a conventional
ceiling fan (with light) into a remote control fan.
The wiring of said kits can very by case, so consult
the included manual. However in most cases, the fan
is wired to the kit's remote receiver as would be wired
in Example 2 above. The kit's receiver would be connected
to the house wiring as in Example 4 above.
See, nothing's that complicated.
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