Ceiling fans are a great way to circulate air in the home to improve overall comfort. They can be installed over a patio, in the living room, bedrooms, etc.
Unfortunately, not all homes are wired for ceiling fan installation, so it’s all up to you to take care of the electrical. You will need to know what size wire to use, which depends on whether or not an electrical box is already installed and rough wiring is feeding the box.
In this article, we’ll go over what size wires you will need to install your Mercator Cardiff Ceiling Fan and how to properly do it without causing harm to your home or yourself.
You’re going to need to figure out which type of wiring you’ll need, the size of the wire nuts to match the wire size, and a safe working space. You should also make sure you have black electrical tape, wire strippers, pliers, and the instructions from your ceiling fan handy.
Wiring
Before you get started, you want to ensure you have the proper wiring. When you don’t have any wiring to work with, you will have to install an electrical box yourself, so you have to decide where you want to get the power for your fan from.
You can use an existing circuit, but if you aren’t sure if the circuit is overloaded, then it’s a good idea to run a new wire to the panel and install a new breaker.
If you’re new to home repair, you can choose to use a stud sensor with a sensor that detects wiring in the wall. You should always wire for two switches, one for the fan and the other for the light, even if you aren’t adding a light at the moment.
What Size Wiring?
There are a couple of sizes you can use, but it depends on a couple of factors. The standard wire to use is a 14-2 solid copper wire with ground. 14 gauge wire is for 15 amp 120VAC circuits. However, if you are using a 20-amp 120VAC circuit, you will want your wire to be a 12-gauge.
If you’re using a 14-3 or 12-3 cable, then you will see a fourth red wire in the cable. Black and red wires are used for “hot” wires and white is used for “return” or “neutral:. The bare copper wire is the ground and should be tied to the chassis of the ceiling fan and associated with the ground wire.
You could choose to run the wire directly from the panel to the switches, but running it from the panel to the box in the ceiling will make it easier for future wiring. Leave 6-12 inches of wire hanging out of the hole at each end and enough wire at the panel to hang two or three feet below it.
How To Wire
Before you begin, turn off the circuit breaker that delivers power to the electrical box at the main circuit panel first. Use a circuit tester to ensure the wires are indeed powered off. You should begin wiring your ceiling fan by connecting all white wires together with a wire nut. There are a couple of different size wire nuts that you should use.
There should be a wiring kit included with the correct size wire nuts. This will include all of the electrical box’s white wire along with the ceiling fan and light fixture white wires. Each end of the wires should be exposed by roughly ⅝ of an inch so the copper is showing. Twist them together using a wire nut.
You should now connect the hot wires together. Begin by twisting the electrical box’s black or red wire and secondary hot wire if there’s a light fixture integrated.
The black wire bundle is going to feed the hot wire associated with the ceiling fan light and the white bundle will need to be tied in with the other neutral wires. You will also need to twist together the bare ground wires and switch cable bundle with the other bare ground wires.
Mounting The Ceiling Fan
Once you’ve completed the wiring, you can assemble the fan according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Attach the fixture for the fan to the panel box per instructions.
Hang the fan from the holding fixture and connect the grounds. You will most likely see a black, white, blur, or gray wire and a bare copper or green insulated wire at the top of the ceiling fan. You may also see a ground wire from the holding fixture.
Connect all ground wires together using a wire nut and connect the white wire from the fan to the white wire from the 14-2 power supply cable. Connect eh black wire from the 14-2 to the black 14-3 cable. Connect the white wire that’s taped back from the 14-3 cable to the black wire from the fa. Connect the red to the blue or gray one from the fan then install the cover.
Finishing The Job
Run the 14-2 cable to the panel per electrical code using a 4/8 inch Romex connector. You should strip the cable sheath from the wires back to just inside the connector. COnnect the ground wire to the ground bus with all other ground wires.
Connect the white to the neutral bus, which may be the same as the ground. The breaker should be turned off while connecting the black wire. Install the breaker to the panel. You can now turn on the breaker and test the fan to ensure it’s properly wired.
Conclusion
It’s important that you remember to shut off all power to the electrical box you’re using. This ensures your safety and the safety of your home.
Wiring a ceiling fan may seem like a difficult task, but if you follow all recommendations and instructions, the job should go off without a hitch. If you don’t think you can handle the job on your own, there’s no shame in hiring an electrician or experienced contractor.
