Installing a Ceiling Fan 10 Things to Know

Installing a Ceiling Fan 10 Things you Should Know | ValueLights

10 Questions to Ask When Installing a Ceiling Fan

How do I choose the right ceiling fan?
How big does it need to be?
How do ceiling fans work?
Do I need a specialised fan type (bathroom)?
How ceiling fans can save on energy bills?
Are ceiling fans easy to install?
Can I install a ceiling fan where a light fixture is?
Are ceiling fans noisy?
Not speedy enough for you?
Wobbly fan! What do I do?

So, you’re asking the right questions. Which is the best first step. Proud of you!

Some of these questions have bigger, more complicated answers. Which is why you were right to start off here. Jumping in the deep end, we love that!

1. The Right Ceiling Fan

When you’re working out what the right ceiling fan for you and your needs is, we’ve already got you covered. Style and colour are important decisions to make if you’re looking for stylistic consistency in your home, but the creative choices are only half of the battle. Logistic and functional questions on size, spin, blades and what special features you might want aren’t as obvious.

The right ceiling fan just has to do whatever you need it to do. Is remote control a non-negotiable for you? Do you need it to reverse to get that heat circulating in the wintertime? Are you going to use the fan as your main light source, does it need to be dimmable?

Don’t stress, between the two of us we’ll make sure you make the right decision.

2. Well, What about the Span, the Down Rod?

For blade span there’s a pretty straightforward way to find the recommended blade span size depending on the size of the room.
First things first, working out the square footage you’ve got to play with is definitely going to help. So multiply the width and length of the room (in feet) and you’ve got your answer.

Next up; a quick note that the blade span is the diameter of the fan blades (whilst spinning, because then you’re working with a circle).
The down rod is an easy one. Simply put, you need about 8-10ft or 2.5m of headspace below a ceiling fan.

So working out the length you need your down rod to be is a case of taking your overall ceiling light, minus the 2.5m headspace you need and then considering the depth of the ceiling fan itself. This gives you the maximum length of your down rod.

CH – 2.5m – CFD = DR

If you’re still a little unsure, fear not - have a little wander over to our fan guide blog where we walk you through what you need to know about bringing in a new member of the fan-ily. We’ve got diagrams and formulas out the wazoo.

3. How do Ceiling Fans even Work?

They spin, which is probably the extent of most general knowledge about fans. That’s fair enough, who really needs to know that much about how ceiling fans work? You, now that you’re looking to get one installed, that’s who.

There’s more info for you curious cats in the ceiling fan guide blog, but in short: when spinning clockwise a fans blade will pull up cool air and push down the warm. If you reverse the spin then it will pull up the warm and push down the cool to create a windchill effect.

So if you’re looking to invest in a year round ceiling fan, make sure it spins both ways.

This is another question that you can get a lot more info about from our fan guide blog, linked above.

Apache Chrome / Wood 48 Ceiling Fan With Remote Control

4. What Kind of Fan do You Need?

There are a lot of different fans out there, for a lot of different spaces and purposes. Naturally, you’re not going to be a fan of them all.
The main thing that will influence what type of fan you’re getting is – where is it going?

Indoors, outdoors, bathroom, living room. They all influence this decision, some are more obvious than others. Bathroom fans are a whole other ball park, whereas outdoor and indoor fans can be pretty similar, you just want to take into consideration what the IP rating is. We’ve got a whole blog on IP ratings for the horribly confused.

Bathroom fans are the most noticeably specific, you will require a specialised bathroom fan. They’re equipped to handle with the moisture and humidity of a bathroom, crafted with specific ventilation requirements in mind and are compliant to different health and safety codes.

5. So, You’ve Heard it’ll Save You Money, but… How?

Ceiling fans cut down your energy bills with their razor sharp blades!

Okay, not really, the cutting down is purely a turn of phrase. Without going full scientist, fans circulate and move around already cool or warm air rather than making the air cool or warm. That is just a less energy intensive task. (Not to keep harping on about it... but... there is more info on this in our fan guide blog).

On top of this, having the dual function of a ceiling fan light cuts energy costs a little just by doing two things at one. More so, if you get a ceiling fan with a dimmable light then you can only have the light set as bright as you need which will cut back some of those costs.

6. Are Ceiling Fans Easy to Install?

For an electrician, yeah! And as safety always comes first… you’re going to call in an electrician, aren’t you?

This is going to depend on whether the mounting bracket is already installed (and whether it can handle the weight of a ceiling fan). The wiring might also already be compatible with a ceiling fan but might not. And each fixture is different so installation will vary.

All of this being said, installation of a ceiling fan is an electricians bread and butter. So, be sure to call one in!

7. Can You have One Installed Where There’s a Light Fixture?

Don’t see why not! Just beware that the electrical box that’s in there for your light probably won’t be able to stand the weight of the ceiling fan so your electrician will need to put in a new one that can. Same goes for the wiring, just because there are wires there doesn’t mean they’ll be compatible with a ceiling fan.

8. Will it be Noisy?

Define noisy? The reality is that having plastic, wood or metal whizzing through the air is going to create some sound. However, when installed correctly a ceiling fan should be barely audible and if it is making noticeable noise then it can be a sign of a motor problem or loose part.

You can get ceiling fans specifically designed to be as quiet as fan-ly possible. If your fan has well balanced, aligned and high-quality blades then they should be whizzing through the air super quietly.

Especially when you’ve had the nice electrician come in to install it so you know that it’s been installed by the book.
Keeping up with the maintenance of your ceiling fan is also going to limit the chance of it becoming noisy, and a huge component to fan maintenance? You guessed it! Knowing how to clean your ceiling fan!

9. It’s Slowed Down?

If you notice the blades aren’t spinning as swiftly as they once were this could be a sign of a faulty capacitor. We know that sounds like a made up word, we’ll admit that we had to give it a Google. There are a number of other things that could be causing the problem, from dust and debris to power supply issues.

So, if you notice the ceiling fan isn’t spinning with the vigour it once spun it’s worth carefully cleaning the fan and the motor. (We’ve got a blog on that too).

If that doesn’t do the trick, then it’s time to swallow your pride and ring up the electrician.

10. Will it Wobble?

This is another sign that something might be loose, because it definitely should not wobble! If it does, make sure all bolts and screws are tightly secured and if that hasn’t done the trick then consult the electrician who installed it or the manufacturer of the item.

This is a lot to ask yourself before making what you probably thought was going to be a relatively simple purchase. Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but we swear – it's for the best that you’re asking these questions now!

Don’t be afraid to call in the electrician when the situation calls for it, because your pride is going to hurt a lot less than those fingertips of yours if you electrocute yourself. Also, just for legal purposes, we’ve told you to use an electrician so don’t come crying to us if you don’t and it goes wrong!