How to install a light fixture?

Do you want to change a light fixture in your home ? There is no need to call a handyman and pay a high price to have him come and do it for you.

Without any electrical experience , you will quickly learn how to perform this simple and quick home maintenance task. Today, I am passing this knowledge on to you.

This article is specifically about replacing old light fixtures with new ones . Installing a light fixture in a brand new location where there was no light before is an undertaking that is usually only suitable for licensed electricians .

Here we go!

1. Turn off the power to the old light fixture.

Your first task is to turn off the power at the source , to the light fixture you are replacing. To do this, you need to know where your electrical panel is and flip the correct switch.

When you do this, leave the light you are changing on, and when it goes out, you will know you have the correct switch .

2. Remove the canopy to expose the wiring and mounting hardware.

The cover is the wide, rounded covering that sits flush with the ceiling and hides the wiring and hardware.

There is usually some sort of screw that holds the awning in place; simply undo the mechanism and let the awning fall off .

3. Unscrew the three wires: black, white and copper.

In short, when you install a light fixture, you connect three wires from the fixture to three wires installed in the ceiling , and then you mount the fixture hardware. That's pretty much all there is to it.

So when you remove the canopy you should see three sets of wires ( black , white and green (or copper)) that need to be disconnected in order to remove the old light fixture.

Unscrew the wire connectors (the red parts in the picture above), and separate the wiring from the light fixture from the ceiling wiring.

4. Remove the old light fixture.

Once you have disconnected the wires, you can usually remove the old light fixture.

There is no universal method for attaching them to the ceiling or electrical box, but usually one or two screws are enough .

There is no need to use anchors, since you attach them to the electrical box , which is firmly anchored into your ceiling.

It is helpful to have another person on hand , especially if it is a heavy and/or bulky light fixture .

5. Install a new bracket.

All light fixtures have a universal size pre-wired box in the ceiling, from which the three electrical wires come down. There will be some sort of base plate that will serve as the mounting hardware for your light fixture .

This is either a single bar " strap " with a " nipple " screw (I hear you snickering...), or a more universal circular mounting bracket.

In all luminaires there is a mounting bar, which you can replace with a new mounting bracket.

Refer to your lighting fixture's instructions for further guidance, but if your fixture came with a new bracket, you should use that.

6. Connect the new light fixture wires.

The wires coming down from the ceiling will have bare ends , while the new wires will have what looks like frayed, silvery ends . You can see this in the picture above.

Twist the " frayed " wires from the end of the new black wire to the exposed end of the existing black wire, twist on a wire connector, and repeat with the white wire.

The copper (or green) wire from the new light fixture may be a little different; sometimes it connects to a green ground screw and other times to a dedicated copper wire coming from the ceiling (electrical box).

Refer to your light fixture instructions and your personal situation: If there is a pre-installed copper wire in your ceiling , connect the new wire to that location.

If there is only one small green screw on your mounting plate, wrap the new copper wire around it.

7. Attach the new light fixture and adjust the length (if there is a chain).

If there is a chain for the light fixture, meaning it is not flush with the ceiling, now is the time to adjust it to the correct length. Each light fixture has a different mechanism for doing this, so check your individual instructions.

There is probably an extra chain or cord that needs to be inserted into the ceiling or hidden in the skylight. Do this at this time as well .

Once all of this is set, you can attach the new light fixture , usually with a few screws into the mounting plate.

Want to go even faster?

Discover this little tutorial made by Castorama with the details in video. If you have any questions, we will answer you in the comment space.