When it comes to doing renovations and improving your home’s value, updating/upgrading ceiling fans can make a huge difference. Ceiling fans are great for air circulation, cooling your home, tying a room’s look together, and ultimately increasing the value of your home. They’re also quite easy to install and can often be done within a few hours. Not bad for a quick afternoon project! Here’s a short guide to installing a ceiling fan yourself at home.

Take Safety Precautions 
The first step to a successful ceiling fan installation is to take the necessary safety precautions. Safety is absolutely essential and you should never put yourself or others at risk during a project. Wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, safety glasses/goggles, or a face shield if needed, and insulated/flame resistant PPE if you’ll be working with any wiring. After that, it’s a matter of shutting off power to the fan’s location so you don’t get hurt by an unexpected surge or other issues. A combination of the proper PPE and work safety practices will make your DIY fan installation a safe, trouble-free experience.

Measure The Room
A DIY ceiling fan installation starts with a ton of preparation and measuring, but understanding the blade diameter to room size ratio helps. Ceiling fan sizes might seem tricky on the surface, but they’re quite simple to understand. The size of the fan should correlate to the room’s size. The diameters mentioned here refer to the diameter of the blades. If your blade diameter is between 29 and 36 inches, then it’ll fit well in a room that’s around 75 square feet. Bathrooms and utility closets match that criteria bets. The larger the blade diameter, the less appropriate it is for certain spaces. A fan measuring 36 – 42 inches, for instance, goes well with a mid-sized room (144 square feet) but would be much too large for a small space like a bathroom. For you bedroom (which is probably around 175 square feet), a 42 – 48 inch fan would work pretty well. For spaces up to 350 square feet, 52 – 56 inch fans get the job done. Do you have a room that’s larger than 350 square feet? That’s no problem, as large ceiling fans with 60 inch or larger blade diameters do exist for these large spaces.
Measuring a room’s square footage is simple. Using a tape measure, go from one wall to the opposite wall. Do this for both length and width, then multiply the numbers together. That’s it. Once you know your room size, you can now select an appropriate ceiling fan for space.

Choose The Right Mount
Ceiling fan mounts—the way you actually attach the fan to your ceiling—are If you’ll be installing the fan in a smaller room with a lower ceiling, you’ll want to look at a variety of flush mount ceiling fans to allow for optimal installation. For rooms with higher ceilings, you can get a standard mount or a downrod. Larger rooms with very high ceilings will require an extended downrod for proper installation.

Use The Proper Tools
Any time you’re doing a DIY project, it’s absolutely vital to ensure you’re using the proper tools for the job. The first place to start is with personal protective equipment. Safety goggles, gloves, and any other important safety measures should be considered before beginning the job. Also make sure you have a ladder. You don’t want to be standing on a chair or precariously placing yourself for the purpose of installing a ceiling fan. Then it’s time for some tools. You’ll definitely need a power drill and the proper bits for your fan.

Assemble The Fan Prior To The Installation
Remove existing fan
Install electrical component
Finish Up With Lights And Wiring