If you need to change your light fixture, why go through the trouble of spending extra money on hiring a professional when you can do it yourself? Even if you do not have any electrical experience, you can still quickly perform this simple home maintenance. Changing light fixtures is a universal process, and does not require in-depth research at all. You just need to make sure that the size of the fixture itself fits into the space you are putting it in. You can also buy any light fixture, and put it up in your home where any light fixture already exists. For more information on how to replace old light fixtures with new ones, keep reading ahead.
Turn off power to the old fixture
Before doing anything else, shut off the power of the fixture that you will be changing out. You need to know where your electrical panel is in order to flip the right switch. After doing this, leave the light that you are changing out on. Once it shuts off, that is a sign that you have got the right switch.
Remove the canopy to expose the wiring and fixture hardware.
The canopy is the rounded covering that lies against the ceiling and conceals the wiring and hardware. It is usually held firmly in place with a screw. Undo it to allow the canopy to drop down.
Unscrew the three wires: black, white, and copper
While installing a light fixture, you have to connect three wires from the fixture to three wires installed in the ceiling, and follow those steps with mounting the fixture hardware. That way, when the canopy comes off, you will be able to see three sets of wires in black, white, and green (or copper). In order to remove the old fixture, these wires need to be disconnected. After unscrewing the wire connectors, separate the fixture wiring from the ceiling wiring.
Remove the old light fixture
Now that the wires are disconnected, the old light fixture can be removed. There are generally one or two screws holding the light fixture together, and need to be undone. It can be helpful to have another person assist you if you have to deal with a heavy light fixture.
Install new brackets
There are some cases where you will need to install a new bracket. All light fixtures have a pre-wired box in the ceiling in which the three electrical wires descend from it. There will be a baseplate – either a bar strap or screw – that works as the mounting hardware for your light fixture. The bar strap needs to be replaced with a new mounting bracket, since that is what has come with the fixture. If you find this step to be challenging, you can refer to your light fixture instructions. Keep in mind that if your fixture comes with a new bracket, you should make sure to use that.
Connect new fixture wires
The wires that come from the ceiling will have bare ends. On the other hand, you will notice that the new wires will have more frayed and silver ends. Twist the frayed threads that are on the end of the new black wire to the end of the black wire. Next, you have to twist on a wire connector, and repeat the same steps with the white wire. In the case of the copper (or green) wire of the new fixture, it might be a little different. It connects to either a green grounding screw or a dedicated copper wire that comes straight from the ceiling or electrical box. Check your light fixture instructions to better understand your own situation. If there happens to be a copper wire pre-installed into your ceiling, you can connect the new wire there. However, if you only have a small green screw on your mounting plate, you will have to wrap the new copper wire around that instead.
Restore power and test out the new fixture!
If you restore the power and the light does not work, there is a possibility that it is because the white or black wires are not fully connected. In that case, you will have to pull down the fixture and inspect the wires and connections. Once that is done and it works properly, you can give yourself a pat on the back for doing a great job!
Now that you know how easy it is to change a light fixture, go ahead and light up the rooms in your house!
Author’s Bio
Afsara Tasnim is a content writer for BreezeMaxWeb, who helps businesses grow their online presence through creating engaging copy. During her spare time, she enjoys taking photographs of nature and exploring the outdoors.
