Basic Electrical Wiring Part 3: How to Install a Light Fixture

Part three of a series on basic electrical wiring explores a typical home improvement project: installing a light fixture.

Installing a Light Fixture: The Basics

Install Light Fixtures | (602) 753-0411

Like installing a ceiling fan,  if you're going be putting in a new light fixture, you need to know some basic carpentry as well as having some skills as an electrician.  A good thing to know about the light fixtures you're looking at, make sure that they are compatible with your voltage.

We had a customer a few years ago buy a light fixture in a marketplace in France a few years ago, but when he tried to install it, it was wired to European standards.  He ended up blowing his circuit breaker.  So when you install a light fixture, make sure it is wired according to voltage in the US.   Here are some basics from the expert himself, Bob Villa.

"Here are a couple of things you should know about electricity and residential wiring before you get started.

- All electric power is fed through the meter to your breaker panel. If you shut something off at the panel there is no power to the wires or boxes in the house.
- Shutting something off at the switch does not necessarily mean that there is no power to the wires in the electrical box.
- When looking at wires, black or red is the current, white is neutral, and green or copper is ground." [READ MORE]

Installing a Light Fixture: the Procedure

First off, shut off the power at the breaker, not at the switch.  Whenever  you're doing any sort of electrical work, this should always be step one.  Next, check out the wires you're going to be connected.  If you have copper wires, only use copper wires.  If you have aluminum wires, only use aluminum wires.  Next, make sure the wires are in good condition, particularly if you have an older home.  When you connect them, always connect like to like.  So connect a white wire to a white wire, a black wire to a black wire, etc.  Make sure the light switch is turned off.  Put in a light bulb.   Then you want to flip the power back on at the breaker level.   Finally, you want to turn on the light at the switch.  If it all works, your light should come on.  

An important thing to note is that if you don't feel comfortable, you may want to call in a home improvement pro.  instead of risking injury or electrical fire.   The best pro is obviously an electrician contractor.

This concludes part three of our series.  For more information on electrical wiring, be sure to read part one and part two as well.

Dodge Electric
781 South Arizona Avenue
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 926-1033
http://www.dodgeelectric.com

Basic Electrical Wiring Part 2: How to Wire a Ceiling Fan

Part two of a series on basic electrical wiring explores a typical home improvement project: wiring a ceiling fan.

Install a Ceiling Fan | (480) 926-1033

Why Install a Ceiling Fan?  

Before we give you some pointers in how to install a ceiling fan, here are some various reasons to add a fan to your room.  First off, if you install a ceiling fan, it helps to keep your home cooler.  Surprisingly enough, if you have a ceiling fan set to low, it will still help to circulate air. If your home is circulating cool air, it makes it a lot easier for your air conditioning to cool your home as opposed to air that is warm and stagnant, which leads to our next reason.

Installing a ceiling fan improves the air quality of a room as well as your entire home.  If the Valley is going through a bad air quality day,  the air quality within a building can be about 10 X worse, particularly if the air isn't moving.  With a ceiling fan however, bad air is ultimately dissipated to the point that it no longer presents a problem.  However, it isn't just for air quality and lower A/C bills that you want to get a ceiling fan put in.  Aesthetically, if you pick out the right ceiling fan, it can add a decorative touch to any room.  However, before you race to put one in, it is a good idea to know the procedure to do it.  

How to Install and Wire a Ceiling Fan

First off, in addition to knowing some basic carpentry, you're going to need to now how to wire a ceiling fan.  First off, if you don't have a ceiling fan there already, more than likely, the outlet in question will have only two wires.  If your ceiling fan has a light installed, you're going to need to connect three wires total: one to the light, one to the fan, and one to the switch.  In our last article, we talked about wiring colors, for a ceiling fan there are usually three.  The procedure for installation varies based on whether you're replacing a light fixture with a ceiling fan, or installing new.

To make it short however, you want to make sure that the place you're going to be installing the fan has struts capable of supporting the extra weight.  Install the light and fan, and make sure you connect the right wires to the switch. If you feel this is beyond you, you may wish to call in someone like a residential electrician in Gilbert to help you

This concludes part two of our series.  For more information on electrical wiring, be sure to read part one and part three as well.

Dodge Electric
781 South Arizona Avenue
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 926-1033
http://www.dodgeelectric.com

Basic Electrical Wiring Part 1: Wires and Wiring Colors

Part one of a series on basic electrical wiring explores wiring gauges and colors.

Your Residential Electrician in Chandler | 480-926-1033

Electrical Wiring: What's With All the Colors?

Doing electrical wiring by yourself can be tricky. Go to a home improvement center or a hardware store.  Check out the spools upon spools of wire in to choose from.  If you  lack the knowledge as well as the experience, you should never try to do any electrical work. Why?  Well, unlike a lot of home improvements that are trial and error, where wiring is concerned, if you make a mistake it could cause a big problem, such as electrical injury or even fire.  That's where wiring colors come in.  Electrical wires are   color coded.  Let's look at a light switch for example.

A light switch has three wiring colors usually: black, white, and green.  The green wire is a ground wire, and should never be left unconnected.  The black and the white wires are usually hot. Sometimes, the wire may be red in lieu of black.  The ground wire is always green.   Ceiling fan installation involves a black wire, a blue one if it has a light and a green wire.  However, color isn't the only thing you want to be aware of.  There is also the metal used in the wire, and the gauge of wiring.

Electrical Wiring Gauges

Looking at wires, some are thicker than others.  Some wires are silvery without their insulation and some are coppery.  Let's talk about metals first.  Never mix copper wiring and aluminum.  You can cause a chemical reaction that can lead to an electrical fire.  Also you don't want to mix different gauges of wire as it can either cause a short, a burnout, or an electrical fire.  You are usually better off calling in a professional residential electrician to help you with any wiring projects.

A lot of people don't know how something that looks so simple can actually be so hard.  With wiring, there is no margin for error.  The least that can happen is that whatever you're trying to install just won't work.   On the other side of the scale however, you could end up staring at your house burning while the fire trucks pull up.  So be smart.  Know what you really can do and what's beyond you.  And call an electrician in Chandler for advice.

This concludes part one of our series.  For more information on electrical wiring, be sure to read part two and part three as well.

Dodge Electric
781 South Arizona Avenue
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 926-1033
http://www.dodgeelectric.com