My home does not have central air in it, so in the summertime, you can imagine how hot my rooms can become. Usually, I just open a window or resort to using a window-based air conditioning unit. However, I heard that the air conditioning unites tend to be expensive, so I try to avoid them.
A man in a similar situation as mine recently told me that he was able to cut off almost $100 from his electric bill each month simply by installing ceiling fans in all of the rooms of his house. While not every room in my house had a ceiling outlet for a fan, my bedroom did. I decided that, rather than hire an electrician to help me with the fan, it would be better for me to save the money and install it myself. I can say now that I’m not sure I would do it again. Here’s how I did it.
First, I removed the globe from the ceiling light fixture. I not only realized how much dust I had in my bedroom, but I realized that I was probably about to get in over my head. I went into the basement and shut off the power to the light so that I didn’t electrocute myself. It was probably the smartest move I made all day.
Knowing that I was going to have to work from natural light in order to install the fan, I had to move fast. Using my bed as my workstation and stepping stool, I unscrewed the two screws that held the light fixture in place. When I unscrewed them, the entire fixture slipped down.
I then realized that I should have unscrewed the bulb first. Thus, I removed the light bulb and then removed the mounting base for the fixture. I detached the two wires that fed electricity into the light bulb mount and completely freed the light. I was left with two old cords hanging from the ceiling around a very poorly painting circle.
I then removed the contents of the box in which the ceiling fan came. I read through the directions several times to make sure I understood everything correctly. The first step was to install the mounting system. However, the mounting system would not hold itself up, but I wasn’t ready to install the fan yet. It appeared that then entire unit would have to be assembled on the bed, then hoisted above my head to the ceiling and balanced on my shoulder as I connected the wires. That’s exactly what I did.
I’m sure there’s a much better way to install a ceiling fan. In fact, a very simple better way would have been to ask someone to help me. Having an assistant on hand to pass you screws and screwdrivers or to even hold the fan while you’re installing the electrical component makes a huge difference, I’m sure.
However, my method did end up working, for better or for worse. The fan was heavy and it was difficult to see what I was doing, but when all of the parts come assembled separately, it is tough to mount them all from the ceiling at once.