Installing a chandelier is particularly important in a construction or renovation project. It allows you to enjoy perfect lighting for the room where it will be installed while enhancing its decoration .
However, it does not always require the help of a professional. You just need to follow the following steps to succeed.
Choosing the right chandelier to start with
Not all chandeliers available on the market are suitable for your interior. To avoid feeling regret after installation, therefore, take into account the following criteria when choosing one:
- Style: This device wants to be a centerpiece of the room where it will be, so make sure that its design matches it. You are not obliged to fall back on the traditional crystal model . You can also opt for a model with an original style or an offbeat design. Also dare to mix genres so that the room has more character.
- The type of lighting: it will depend in particular on the volume to be lit. You will need a high power, but this should not push you to opt for a chandelier with bulbs emitting blinding light. Therefore, favor the LED chandelier and its soft lighting. Energy-saving compact fluorescent or halogen bulbs in a warm tone are also good alternatives.
- Size: it should correspond to the shape and volume of the room . Opt for a chandelier with a diameter of 30 to 40 cm if the latter is 10 m2. On the other hand, you will need at least 60 cm in diameter for a room of more than 20 m2.
Removal of the old light fixture as a prerequisite
After you have the modern electric chandelier that meets your criteria delivered to you, you can prepare for its installation. Start by removing the old light fixture .
In order not to put your life in danger, cutting off the electricity supply is essential. This requires operating the relevant circuit breaker.
Then check the effectiveness of this interruption by doing a test before dismantling the old lighting device. This involves unscrewing the porthole, then removing the bulb.
This will give you access to the cover, the part responsible for protecting the electrical wires that you will need to remove to be able to release the electrical connectors.
After a new test to check if the electric current is no longer reaching it, you can move on to unscrewing or unclipping the connectors. Complete this preliminary step by removing the metal strap .
Installing the new chandelier
The actual installation will not have to be done in the same way depending on the type of fixing of your chandelier. Whether this fixing is of the classic type or a flush-mounting box, it is always important to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturers .
In fact, special provisions may be required depending on the models, and this precision applies even more to recent models.
Is your installation more traditional, with only wires coming out of the ceiling? Creating a mounting system will be essential. You will therefore need to drill into the ceiling to be able to install one or more hanging plugs .
The number of holes will, of course, depend on the list model you have chosen. You can also opt for a simple technique which consists of changing the strip present on the new lighting device.
In case a DLC or Luminaire Connection Device is already present, you will no longer have to drill the ceiling to install your chandelier. It is also possible that your new chandelier has been delivered with its own connection box.
If this is the case, you will only have to proceed directly to embedding this box in the ceiling. No other device is necessary.
Connection to the electrical circuit
The next step will be to connect the chandelier to the electrical circuit . 3 wires are needed to connect it to the electrical panel: a blue wire for neutral, the red, brown or black wire for phase and the green or yellow wire for the ground wire.
Dominoes, Wago terminals or XTP connectors are required to make this connection. It will be necessary to expose the chandelier wires to 10 cm before inserting them into the locations provided for the elements just mentioned.
A similar operation will have to be carried out with the wires at the electrical circuit level. Ensure its safety by not forgetting to tighten the screw or use a lever. All that remains after this is to hang the chandelier and fix its cover.
If it is an installation with a DLC box, the insertion of the wires into the box will be necessary . Make sure to position, in accordance with the NF standard, the earth wire in the center, the neutral wire at the N and the phase wire facing the L before connecting the chandelier to the box.
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