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Fan / Light Combination Switch Wiring
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WHILE EXTREME CARE HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE
PREPARATION OF THIS SELF-HELP DOCUMENT, THE AUTHOR AND/OR PROVIDERS
OF THIS DOCUMENT ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS,
NOR IS ANY LIABILITY ASSUMED FROM THE USE OF THE INFORMATION,
CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT, BY THE AUTHOR and / OR PROVIDER.
Connections Instructions:
(as depicted in the diagrams above)
At the Fixture
box...
One cable entering this box coming from switch.
* a) connect the white wire coming from switch to
the fixture itself (grounded conductor [neutral]).
* b) connect the black wire coming from switch to
the switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light
(shown as black in diagram)
* c) connect red wire coming from switch to switched
ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan (shown as red in
diagram)
* d) please see under important notes in regards to
the equipment grounding conductor (bare wire).
At switch box...
Two cables entering this box, one coming from
fixture, and one is the 'circuit power supply
cable'.
* a) using an insulated wire nut connect / join the
white wire coming from fixture + the white wire from
'circuit power supply cable'.
* b) connect the black wire coming from fixture to
the one of the main screw of one of the switches
(this will switch the light of the fan/light combo
fixture)
* c) connect the red wire coming from fixture to the
one of the main screws of the other switch (this
will switch the fan of the fan/light combo fixture).
* d) using an insulated wire nut connect / join the
black wire coming from the 'circuit power supply
cable' + two black wires going to the remaining main
screw of both switches.
* e) please see under important notes in regards to
the equipment grounding conductor (bare wire).
Important Notes:
By electrical codes you MUST have at least 6 inches
of wire in the electrical box itself, and also the
wire must be able to reach at least 3 inches outside
the box, it can fail an electrical inspection if the
required min. wire length is not met. You may have
the wires a bit longer (within reason) but they
cannot be shorter. Also see the note on box fill
further down in this article.
Use wire nuts of the correct size to join wires
together. For fan / light combination fixtures, most
likely it will have wire connections, the white wire
is the grounded conductor (neutral) and connects to
the white wire coming from switch, any green wires
are equipment grounding conductors, then there will
be two other wires one will be the switched
ungrounded conductor (hot) for the light, and one
will be the switched ungrounded conductor (hot) for
the fan. If you are confused please post to our
forums for further clarification.
What is not shown in the drawings to avoid
confusion, is that each wire cable also has a bare
equipment grounding wire included. This wire is
connected to a grounding screw in each electrical
box (if the box is metal), joined either through the
grounding screws in the box itself or via a wire nut
to the bare wire of the next cable entering /
exiting the box, it is also connected to any
grounding screw (if there is one) on the switch
itself, as well as any grounding screw at the
fixture (green wires that attach to the fixture are
grounds). Now if using a plastic box, it is made of
a material that is non conductive, however some
plastic boxes have a metal strip inside that can
still be used to connect equipment grounding wires,
in the event that it does not use wire nuts to join
the bare grounding wires together. The equipment
grounding wire (bare in most cables) must be
electrical conductively joined throughout the
circuit. Green wires are also equipment grounding
conductors.
If there is an equipment grounding screw on the
switch it may be green in color and be separated
away from the main connections of the switch and
likely part of the metal frame that is also part of
the mounting structure of the switch.
Extensions to
this Switch circuit...
Be Aware that there is a limit by code on how many
wires can be in a given size electrical box, when
adding more wires to the same box you may have to
install a larger and / or deeper box to allow space
for more wires coming and out of the box.
Here is an article / explanation in regards to box
fill calculations ' Box
Fill Calculation'
The instructions here are based on the fact that the
circuit has already been wired to the configuration
shown in this article and we are now making the
wiring changes for onward power.
From the switch
locations....
Both onward switched power and always on power is
available at the switch location.
(showing bellow the fixture portion of the circuit)
Option 1
- Onward switched power controlled from
light switch
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (switched from light switch)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from the 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from switch (that
switches the light) + the black wire coming from fixture.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
*************
Option 2 -
Onward switched power controlled from fan switch
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (switched from fan switch)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from the 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the red wire coming from switch (that switches
the fan) + the red wire coming from fixture.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
************
Option 3 -
Two onward switched power controlled from both switches.
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (two switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from switch (that
switches the light) + the black wire coming from fixture.
* c) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the red wire
of onward cable + the red wire coming from switch (that switches
the fan) + the red wire coming from fixture.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light switch.
Red - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
**********
Option 4 -
Onward always on power and Onward switched power
controlled from light switch.
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (always on & switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from the 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from 'circuit power
supply cable' + two black wires going to one main screw of both
switches.
* c) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the red wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from switch (that
switches the light) + the black wire coming from fixture.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - ungrounded conductor (hot - always on).
Red - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
***********
Option 5 -
Onward always on power and Onward switched power
controlled from fan switch.
\Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (always on & switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from 'circuit power
supply cable' + two black wires going to one main screw of both
switches.
* c) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the red wire
of onward cable + the red wire coming from switch (that switches
the fan) + the red wire coming from fixture.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - ungrounded conductor (hot - always on).
Red - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
*************\
Option 6 -
Onward always on power only
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (always on)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from the 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from 'circuit power
supply cable' + two black wires going to one main screw of both
switches.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - ungrounded conductor (hot - always on).
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
*************
Option 7 -
Onward always on & 2 switched power....
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the switch
electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (switched)
(using a 4 wire [plus bare] onward wire cable)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from fixture + the white
wire coming from 'circuit power supply cable'
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the blue wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from the 'circuit power
supply cable' + two black wires going to one main screw of both
switches.
* c) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from fixture + the black
wire connected to one of the main screws of light switch.
* d) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the red wire
of onward cable + the red wire coming from fixture+ the red wire
connected to one of the main screws of fan switch.
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Blue - ungrounded conductor (hot - always on).
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot - controlled by light
switch).
Red - switched ungrounded conductor (hot - controlled by fan
switch).
*************
From the fixture location...
Only switched power is available at the fixture location.
(showing bellow the fixture portion of the circuit)
Option 1 -
Onward switched power controlled from light switch
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the
fixture electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from switch + the white
wire connected to fixture (grounded conductor [neutral])
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the black wire
of onward cable + the black wire coming from switch + the black
wire connected to fixture (for light - switched ungrounded
conductor [hot])
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
***********
Option 2 -
Onward switched power controlled from fan switch
Not shown in the diagram but the onward
cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding conductor) that
also must be connected to all the other bare wires at the
fixture electrical box.
Connection Instructions for
onward cable (switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the white wire
of onward cable + the white wire coming from switch + the white
wire connected to fixture (grounded conductor [neutral])
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the red wire
of onward cable + the red wire coming from switch + the red wire
connected to fixture (for fan - switched ungrounded conductor
[hot])
Identification of wires of
onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan switch
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
************
Option 3
- Two onward switched power from both switches.
Not shown in the diagram but the
onward cable also has a bare wire (equipment grounding
conductor) that also must be connected to all the other
bare wires at the fixture electrical box.
Connection
Instructions for onward cable (two switched)
(only the changes to the wiring are described here)
* a) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the
white wire of onward cable + the white wire coming from
switch + the white wire connected to fixture (grounded
conductor [neutral])
* b) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the
red wire of onward cable + the red wire coming from
switch + the red wire connected to fixture (for fan -
switched ungrounded conductor [hot])
* c) Using an insulated wire nut, attach / join - the
black wire of onward cable + the black wire coming from
switch + the black wire connected to fixture (for light
- switched ungrounded conductor [hot])
Identification of
wires of onward wire cable...
Black - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from light
switch.
Red - switched ungrounded conductor (hot) from fan
switch.
White - grounded conductor (neutral).
Foreign Users:
The colors of the wires
depicted are based on the standards and code
requirements / configuration in the United States and
Canada. If you are viewing this site from a foreign
country, your wiring standards and color of wires may be
different but the principal and sequence of wiring will
still remain the same. Therefore the information in this
article may still be of use to you regardless of what
country you may be in. Just translate the colors used
here to the color of wires used in your country in
regards to ungrounded (hot) conductors / grounded
conductors (neutral) and equipment grounding conductors
as well know applicable code requirements in your
country.
By: Donald Kerr
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