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Stealing power from fan/light circuit?

6K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  beer_geek 
#1 ·
I just purchased a new home and had ceiling fans roughed into just about every room in the house. My intent is to use one of the circuits from the ceiling fan for the fan, and the other for recessed lighting, since we don't like ceiling fan light fixtures.

My goal is to not have more than (4) 60 watt recessed lights in every room, which is what the lighting circuit is designed for. We already have separate wall switches for the fan and the fan light in each room.

Wiring this sucker sounds pretty simple, but I suspect that it's not as straight forward as it seems. Is this possible? What color wires will I find when I crack open the rough-ins? How should I wire everything?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
You seem like a very intellegent and articulate person, judging from your post, however from the same post I also gather that you have not done much reading on electrical installations.

It would be very easy for you to do this work both to code and safely, but you should get a good book on residential wiring and do some homework first. It is not rocket science, but if you are like me you could not even tie your shoes till someone shoed you how.

As far as difficulty goes, your biggest headach is going to be all the patching after you cut holes in the ceiling to run your wires from the existing ceilng box to the locations where you want the new recess cans.

You will find the rooms lights either feed from the switch or feed from the ceiling outlet. It will not matter much which way it was done, you will need a two conductor cable with ground (that totals three wires, one is bare) from the ceiling box that is there now to the locations of each of the light you want to add.

They make old work cans that you can install in the ceiling drywall. just be very carefull with your layout as you cannot cut the wood out of the ceiling if it gets in your way. the can light just fit in a hollow space.

Do a bit of reading and some more planning, and then come on back with a plan. We willl be glad to help you along the way.
 
#4 ·
You seem like a very intellegent and articulate person, judging from your post, however from the same post I also gather that you have not done much reading on electrical installations.
Actually, I've done this before in my old home, but I forgot exactly what I did. I believe that I looped one of the three wires, but the wiring in this house could be different. :)
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply.

I do have a bit of a dilemma that I'm trying to figure out. Perhaps you can help. The insulation above the rooms I intend to add recessed lights to is the blown in type. What's the best way to deal with that?

I know that if I inadvertently compress the blown in insulation, it'll will reduce its R-value. Any suggestions?
 
#5 ·
is the ceiling space above accessable??? if not like Jwhite said, you are going to have a lot of patching to do. As for the insulation, I suggest a big plastic sheet to lay underneath. As for can lights, make darn sure they are "IC" rated, if not, you are going to have problems with the heat and the lights shutting down.
 
#7 ·
Then you should be able to do your layout from above so you can miss the ceiling joists, DO NOT CUT THE JOIST, most homes now days are engineered as to use less lumber, each member is needed. As for the wiring, it depends on if they used 14/2 or 14/3. If they used 14/2, all that will be in the cable is a black, white, and ground. If they used 14/3, there will be a black, red, white, and ground. I usually use the black conductor for the fan and the red for lights. You will have to pig-tail the neutral (white) so you have a neutral for both the fan and the can lights, that is if they used 14/3. If they used 14/2, just take the whole cable and swing it over to your first light. Just make sure you work save and turn off the power to the room you are working on. If you are in California, to keep up with code, you will need ICAT rated can lights and if they are indacascent, you will need a dimmer. IC stands for Insulated Ceiling and the AT stands for Air Tight.
 
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