Wiring a ceiling fan and lightcan seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. ProTool Reviews gives you a visual guide and step by step instructions on makingthe best connections for your particular ceiling fan installation. ON a scaleof 1-10, the level of difficulty on this project is a 5, though it can be morecomplex if you include the ancillary projects such as running wiring throughwalls, etc.
The main thing toconsider wiring a ceiling fan and light is determining how you want that fan tobe controlled. For some, that will be any combination from no switches (usingthe included pull chains for powering the fan and/or light) and having separateswitches for the light and fan.
Having the right toolswill help the project go smoothly. It also ensures you don’t get bogged downtrying to use, for example, a razor knifed to strip wires. A pair of actual wire stripperswill do the job more accurately and about 10x faster.
Author’s Note: Codesand Safety Tips
It’s always important to follow the local codes in your area when wiring a ceiling fan and light. Permits may berequired for interior electrical work. When working with electricity, alwaysremember to turn off the power, test the wiring with an electrical tester (orvoltmeter) to ensure the power is off, secure the panel box so no one canaccidentally re-engage power while you are working, and consult a professionalto ensure you are doing things correctly and within the specifications of yourstate and local codes. Read all the instructions and safety information thatcomes with your ceiling fan.
We’ll go through eachtype of switching methodology and discuss what each entails in terms of wiringand controlling your ceiling fan/light. The four methods are:
- Powered ceiling fan and/or lightwithout any switches (no switches)
- Switching the light and using thepull chain for the fan (Single switch)
- Using thesame switch for switching both the light and fan (Single switch)
- Switching the light and fan fromseparate switches (Two switches)
- Switching the light and fan from thesame switch with power at the switch (Single switch)
Table of Contents
1. Powered Ceiling Fan and/or Light Without Any Switches (NoSwitches)
We recommend this method when you simply cannot run a switch into the room. It does require that you have theability to bring power directly to the fan from a nearby location. It’s certainly anacceptable wiring method and the fans all come with pull string switches tocontrol the fans and light kits. Wiring this type of electrical connectionlooks like this:
As you can see, thissimple connection feeds power to both the fan and (optional) light kit.The ground and neutral wires simply get tied together as you’d expect. Thepower for the fan motor will typically be black, while most modern-day fansalso have a separate blue wire that supplies power to the lights. It’simportant to connect this wire even if you don’t plan on using a light kit asit gives the homeowner the opportunity to add one later on without having toremove and rewire the fan from above.
2. Switching the Light and Using the Pull Chain for the Fan(Single Switch)
This method and thefollowing are the most commonly used. They only require a single lightswitch. Many older homes never gave any thought to wiring up a secondswitch. Mostly, this happened because homes didn’t have a powered ceiling fan. As a result, manyhomeowners must use a single switch to control the light and/or bothaspects of their ceiling fans. The wiring for this type of electricalconnection looks like this:
As you can see, weswitched the hot line going to the light kit by inserting the switch. Many people use simple 12/2 (Romex) with a ground wire to make this loop. If you do this, wrap blackelectrical tape around the exposed white wire. This indicates (to you or anyoneelse who works on the circuit in the future) that it is indeed a“hot” wire and not a neutral line.
While we show a small strip ofelectrical tape, we recommend actually wrapping it around all the exposed whitewire. Note that we opted to wire thefan motor directly to the power source. That lets us use the fan’s pull stringto turn it on and off. This also keeps the fan usable regardless of the position ofthe wall switch. Make your connections for the neutral and ground wires, andyou’re all set.
3. Switching the Light AND Fan from the Same Switch (Single Switch)
This is a slightadaptation of the above method. It switches power for both the fan and thelight kit from the wall switch. This lets you turn the fan onand off with the wall switch (along with the light). You don’t have to walk overand pull the chain to stop the fan motor. This wiring method is completely upto you. Some prefer method #2, while others (myself included) typically opt forthis method. Here’s how this electrical connection looks:
Note that power is fedthrough the switch. Both the fan motor and the light kit get their power from theswitch. As expected, the neutral and grounds are simply tiedtogether and all is well.
4. Switching the Light and Fan from Separate Switches (Two Switches)
This is the mostversatile way to electrically wire a ceiling fan with a light kit. It allowsfor separate control over both the fan and the light in the room. There arealso lots of really convenient switches that put this dual control into oneneat little package. Some even give you the ability to dim the lights –definitely a nice touch! There are endless choices when it comes to combinationdimmers/switches you can use with your fan or fan/light.
Of course you canalways simply wire up two single pole switches and you’re all set. And here iswhat the electrical wiring would look like for this situation:
It looks morecomplicated, but don’t sweat it. The basic idea is that your power supply lineis feeding both switches. Each switch then feeds either the fan (black wire) orlight kit (blue wire). All that’s left at this point is to tie together all theground wires and neutral wires (respectively). Keep in mind again that weassumed 12/2 with ground for the lines going to and from the switches, so besure to clearly label them as “hot” wires by wrapping blackelectrical tape around the white ends.
While code makes certain stipulations, there are typically different ways toaccomplish a wiring connection. Case in point, the above method was shown usingstandard 12/2 wire. If you opted for 12/3 wire, you could accomplish the samedual switch connections with a little bit less work:
What you are doinghere is using the single hot (black) wire to power both the switches. You cando this by jumping a longer length of wire to both switches. Jumping means thatyou strip the insulation away from a small area of wire. Make it just large enough toloop around the hot terminal. You then loop that exposed wire around the hotterminal of the first switch. Finally, strip the end and connect that to thesecond switch. The hot returns are then the red wire and the white wire whichyou tape black (on both ends) to designate it as a hot wire.
You can also jumpthe ground wire. This method of jumping wires is nice in that it eliminates theneed for wire nuts. It also makes for a simpler wiring scheme (and gives you moreroom to work in the box!)
Here’s a similar way to do it using 12/3 wire with wire nuts in lieu of a jumper wire:
5. Switching the Lightand Fan from the Same Switch with Power at the Switch (Single switch)
This is identical tosituation #3 above. However we wanted to outline the wiring differences whenthe power is actually at the switch instead of in the ceiling. We find thismethod is encountered in roughly fifty percent of the time in older homes. It especially occurs when electrical wiring originated in the crawl space.Additionally, there is a sort of clean-ness to this method.
It also offers twohelpful advantages. First, the wires are consistent. You have no re-labelingof neutral wires. Secondly, this method of wiring makes swapping out ceilingfans easy. Cutting power at the switch eliminates all power to the ceilingbox. Note that we still recommend deactivating the breaker and checking yourwires with a voltmeter, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Helpful Tips
Be sure to check thepower source before beginning the job – even if you’ve already tripped thebreaker. We’ve seen several cases where more than one power source was routedto a particular ceiling box. We got quite a surprise when we reached inside!It’s also important to note that while some power supplies come in via theswitch (and not from above) the basic methodology described here doesn’tchange. What does change is that you can safely deactivate the ceiling fan boxsimply by turning off the switch. This is handy when replacing ceiling fanswith a similar model. However, we still recommend shutting down the breaker,lest someone walk in on you and attempt to turn on the lights!
Stripping Wires
When stripping wires,we prefer to use a stripping tool as opposed to a razor blade. There areseveral on the market, from $2 tools that are simple stripping devices tofancier wire strippers that have cutouts for 10/2, 12/2, and 14/2 cable.
Don’t Use the Included Wire Nuts
Never use the included“wire nuts” that come with ceiling fans. They almost never have ametal inner winding and are commonly undersized. That makes them difficult touse, if not unsafe. Instead, be sure to grab a small assortment pack at yourlocal home improvement or hardware store. While typically not necessary, werecommend taping any wire nuts after you make those connections. Wire nuts are normallyvery reliable, but it never hurts to add an extra layer of protection to keepthem from ever unwinding. This is just a good habit to get into and costs nextto nothing in terms of time or money to implement.
That’s All, Folks!
Hopefully, this guidewill get you on your way to installing a ceiling fan and making all of therequired electrical connections to get it up and running smoothly. A ceilingfan makes a great addition to almost any room. It’s one of the easiestprojects to complete and really makes an impact in your home. It can also make youlook and feel like a real handyman.
