Ceiling fans are a great addition to any room. They make a room warmer in winter and will help an air conditioner keep you cooler in the summer.
Instructions vary some from one maker to another but basically you will,
1. Remove the existing light fixture.
2. Make sure the existing electrical box is secure enough to support the extra weight of a fan.
3. Assemble the fan and install it.
4. Add the light fixture if you are using one.
Start by shutting off the power to the ceiling fixture circuit at the service panel. It is always a good idea to place a note ( a BIG one) on the panel when you are doing electrical work, you need to make everyone aware that you are doing electrical work and to leave the panel alone.
Use only a metal junction box to support a ceiling fan - never hang the fan from a plastic box. Depending on the brand, style and size of your ceiling fan - and your electrical code - you may use a 4" or 3" octagonal junction box. (Some local codes don't permit the use of 3" boxes.)
If you can't reach the box, such as when working through a first-floor ceiling in a 2-story home, a specialized fan support unit designed to be inserted through the normal junction box hole will save you from opening a hole in the ceiling. Retrofit fan-support boxes are available where you buy your fixtures, and cost about $10-$12. Follow the manufacturers instructions.
If you have a beamed ceiling you'll use a special beam mount. Use one kind for a horizontal beam, another for a pitched beam. You may need an extender (threaded pipe) to lower the fan to the proper level, most all Manufacturers recommend that the fan be hung between 8'-9' off the floor.
Assemble the Fan:
Fan assembly varies from brand to brand. Be sure to follow the specific instructions with the unit you buy. Regardless of the manufacturer's instructions, if the fan blades are less than 10"-12" away from the ceiling, it may be best to install the blades before hanging the fan.
Installing The Fan
Install the hanger bracket on the box with screws and lock washers. If no lock washers are supplied, get some - they prevent fan vibration from loosening the screws over time.
The hanger bracket may accept either a half-ball hanger or a hook-type hanger, depending on which kind your fan uses. Either way, the hanger is carefully slipped into the bracket.
Next, the unit is wired, be sure to connect the black house wires to the black fan wires, and the white house wires to the white fan wires. If you are going to attach a lit kit,follow the instructions that come with your fan, normally the power to the light is supplied thru a blue wire.
The fan should be electrically grounded to both the metal box and the fan. The grounding wires will be either green or bare copper. Connect the ground wires from the box, the fan and the power supply together with a wirenut, there may be a pigtail wire on the fan which you attach to the box with a screw. After completing the wiring the ceiling cover is slipped up to its full height and tightened in place.
Installing The Light
To access the wiring that powers the light kit, loosen the screws that hold the cap on the fan's switch housing bracketon the bottom. With the cap removed, you'll see a bundle of wires. Of these wires, two will be labeled for use with the light kit. One will be white (neutral), the other, black, red or blue (hot).
Before wiring the lamp, however, install the adapter ring included with the fan kit bracket. The adapter serves as a reducing ring for the lamp housing. Attach the adapter ring with the screws provided.
Pull the two labeled wires through the adapter ring, lift the lamp and make the wiring connections. Join the two white wires with a wire connector and the fixture's black wire to the remaining labeled wire bracket. Fasten the light kit to the fan with the two screws provided for this purpose bracket.
Most fans have the capacity to spin in both directions, and can be switched accordingly. Look to the side of the switch housing for the directional switch. Because fan blades are canted slightly, rotation in one direction will move air upward, in the other, downward.
Set your fan to blow downward in summer and upward in winter.
