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Wiring a ceiling fan?

2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Yoyizit 
#1 ·
Hi all first post here. I am a first time home owner here, newly married and 25 years old. I am a big DYI guy. The wife wants a fan in our bedroom so we just bought a cheap unit to see what we think and if we will actually use it. Also also bought the brace to put in the attic between the trusses.

So my electrical question. Right now we have about (7) recessed lights in our bedroom but I was thinking maybe I should not pull power from that circuit as we will probably have the lights on when the fan is of. So I am thinking about fishing it though the wall and tying it into the backside of an outlet.

So I would fish the wire down to the outlet, rthe outlet is in the middle of the circuit so I could either do a pigtail or possibly attach it directly to the terminals? I guess I would have to get a new old work deep box to stuff all these wires in there?

Then I would run this hot wire to a switch then to the fan. The fan is the fan only, no lights.

Sorry for the long post, just want to try to cover everything.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the wonderful world of DIY - Now go buy the Home Depot 1-2-3 book, it's going to be a great help for this and other projects you will have.

Don't run the power from the outlet, run it from your light switch.

The switch is where your Hot (black), Neutral (white), and Ground (bare or green) wires feed into your light switch. Normally, the Hot goes to the switch, another hot goes out the switch to the lights, and a white comes back and is pigtailed with the white.

Basic setup:

Fish a 14/3 wire, romex or armored to your switch area from where you want your fan. The 14/3 will let you control a fan and light separately from the wall, you want this flexibility so you won't need to run another wire later.

Replace your existing 2"x4" switchbox with a 4"x4" box. This will allow you to put a switch for your fan on the wall. In the new box, make a new pigtail off the black wire that feeds power in. Give yourself two 12" black leads, each will feed power to a switch. Connect one to your light switch, the other to a new switch for your fan. Add the white to the existing white pigtail, and tie the ground in to the ground wires in the back of the box.

Better setup:

Instead of a switch on the wall and a switch overhead on a string... why not put a switch where you actually will want it: next to the side of the bed where your wife sleeps? She's going to be the one who will determine if the room is hot or cold, so give her the ability to control air flow.

In addition to what I described above, instead of a regular wall switch buy a dual control radio controlled fan switch. It will have two remotes, one that fits in the wall switch and one that is like a remote control, and has a holder you can mount on the wall or side of a dresser.

The wall unit will have two black wires - this is a power disconnect and you will connect it as if it were the wall switch for the fan. This is just a safety device though, the power to the fan is normally hot even when the fan isn't running. A radio receiver will sit inside the fan housing, this will control power going to the fan motor and any lights you may add later.

Best setup:

Take your cheap Fan only setup (what, you sleeping in a garage?) and buy a pleasant looking one with lights. Attach as above, but now you will have the ability to not only have the bright recessed utility lighting, but also the ability to have dim-able romantic lighting. Also nice to be able to set a dim light if your partner goes to be early, you can use that one instead of the super-brights to find your way to bed.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the pointers! We already have a 4x4 box installed, one side has a blank plate on it. The left switch controls the ceiling lights, so I will tie into that hot wire and jump to the right side of the box and install another switch, then I will run 14-3 wire to the fan. Actually she is the one who picked out the fan with no lights, she really liked the look, plus she said we have more than enough lights, we have a total of 7 recessed lights in our bedroom, 2 in a small hallway, 3 in the closet and 4 in the bathroom. Its insane! Our master suite is around 200-250sq ft, so its not a HUGE area.

I will run the 14-3 just in case she decides to get a lamp version later. I do like the remote switch idea though :thumbsup:
 
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