The first question you may be asking yourself is “What are the benefits of installing a ceiling fan?” There are many ways to use home improvement to spruce up a house. Learning how to install a ceiling fan is one of the ways to make your home look more appealing. There are several reasons to add this type of fixture. Some reasons to add a fan to any room are for cooling value, financial, and decorative. Sometimes when removing a popcorn ceiling you may also decide to replace the fixutres and vents.

One of the reasons for installing a ceiling fan is the most obvious: the cooling value. It circulates the air in a room and can reduce the temperature of a room up to 6 degrees. This can make a marked difference in the way an area feels. Many times, this fixture is taken for granted as just decoration. A fan, however, can be a great way to cut the use of your air conditioner and in turn, the effect of your air conditioner on your electric bill.

This brings us to the next reason for ceiling fan installation, which is cost. Running a fan instead of a high-energy air conditioner can make a huge difference on your electric bill. The final reason to add this ceiling fixture to any room in your home is that it is aesthetically pleasing. If you are looking at a room and wondering what you can do to make it look a little less drab, maybe adding a ceiling fan is just the touch you are looking for.

Once you have decided to install a ceiling fan, there are several general considerations to take into account. First, you must consider where you will locate this fixture. Most people place them in the center of a room, installed in the place of a central light. The air flow from this location is smooth and as evenly distributed as possible. You should decide whether you wish to replace all of the light fixtures in your house or building with ceiling fans or just a few strategic ones. Coincidentally, a ceiling fixture and a fan draw about the same power. This means that the circuit shouldn’t be overloaded with a replacement. Be sure that if your unit has lights, that the circuit has enough capacity to handle an extra load. Otherwise, a new circuit must be run with a new breaker from the house main panel or subpanel to the fan you will be installing. If there is no existing light fixture in the room, a place to hang the fixture must be created. Electrical power to the fan will then be required. This can be accomplished by tapping into an existing circuit.

When you have chosen a location for the ceiling fan, the actual installation can begin. When installing this type of fixture, as with doing any electrical work, start by turning off the power to the specific circuit breaker or fuse you will be working with. Only after making sure this very important first step is finished, you may remove the light fixture if there is one. If not, snap chalk lines diagonally from corner to corner to find the center of the room. If the lines intersect exactly below a ceiling joist, move aside just enough between joists to fasten the side of the fan’s junction box to the joist. Cut a hole for the junction box. If it’s next to the joist, attach it to the joist by drilling holes in the side of the box and screwing it. If you are going to install between joists, fasten the box to a 2X4 header through a hole in the junction box. Then nail it to each joist. If you choose to use a patented fan support unit, it could save you from opening a hole in the ceiling.

When choosing a junction box to support the ceiling fan, never choose a plastic box. Always use a metal junction box. The metal box is by far sturdier. Any fan that is supported by an outlet box must be 35 lbs. or lighter. If it ways more than 35 lbs., it should be supported by the building structure. No matter what, make sure the junction box is well supported enough to handle at least 50 lbs. This is the wait of an average ceiling fan. Your mounting must also be able to withstand the vibration of the fan running. No matter how well-balanced the fan is, it will create some vibration while running.

Methods of fan assembly will vary from brand to brand. Follow specific instructions that are detailed and come with the unit you buy. The standard rule of thumb in whether to install the blades before or after it is installed is if the blades are less than a screwdriver’s length from the ceiling. Usually, the hanger pipe will be placed into its hole on the top of the motor. Wires will be drawn up in the center and a set screw is tightened securely to make the pipe stay in place after being threaded down.

If the case is that your fan has a separate motor hub where the hanger pipe mounts, place the motor housing over the hub. Some cases are that there are two piece decorative ceiling covers to hide the hole in the ceiling, which is installed after the fan has been hung. Be sure to tighten the set screw well for stability. You might also come into contact with a fixture that hangs from a hook with a hanger bracket. Set the motor down in a stable place to attach the fan blades. The blades will most likely have a two-pronged attachment where screws that come through holes in the blades go into the flanges. Draw them up securely but not too tightly, as the threads can be damaged or the material can be crushed. These flanges, on some units, will also need to be mounted to the motor housing. If so, mount them before the flanges are mounted to the blades.

Check the height between the floor and the blades by measuring the floor to ceiling distance then subtracting the extension of the fan to the lower blade surface. A minimum height of 7 inches is strongly recommended. If the distance is to small, you might need a low ceiling mount for the fixture. In some cases, certain models will allow the blade height to be increased. You must have at least 12 inches between blade tops and the ceiling for the correct air flow. 18 inches is even better if the space is available.

Take screws and lock washers and install the hanger bracket on the box. If there are no lock washers provided in your kit, they are well worth the investment as they prevent vibration from loosening the screws as the years pass. A half-ball hanger or a hook hanger may bee acceptable, depending on your specific unit. Wire the unit then slip the ceiling cover to its full height and tighten. The black house wires should connect with the black fan wires and the white house wires to the white fan wires. It then should be electrically grounded to the metal box and the fan. These grounding wires will normally be green or bare copper. Attach a green grounding pigtail to the box by a bonding screw. Wirenut the ground wires from the box as well as from the fan and the power supply all together. If after being mounted the fixture wobbles when it runs, try interchanging two adjacent blades as they might be out of balance. If this is not the problem, try weighing each blade to check for inconsistency. If underweight, modeling clay or something similar could help to balance it. Balancing kits are also available. Once the blades are properly balanced, it will run smoothly.