The Electrical Code

Why is it they make these boxes? Manufactures spend thousands in producing these boxes and people use what they got in the ceiling anyway, and that seems to work for ever with out a hick up. Some(people that call them selfies Electricians) make it a practice of putting a screw up in there for good measure. After installing they pray after each install it will hold. And for the most part they will? They do. Let me be the one to say that I make it a practice to use a bar box when ever there is an opportunity. And that’s because it opens the door to so more options the home owner has to install what ever fixture they want. And I can rest assure that it was done right and I was paid for doing it right. The home owner did not pay me to do it wrong or hope it will hold.

The bar box is a box that can hold, and this is specific to the box, 150lbs light fixture with a stud formation of 16 on center. If we find a stud formation that is 24 inches on center the weight goes down to 50lbs!!!! Crazy!!! 100lbs for just 8 inches of space. Then when we are talking about the weight rating of a fan, that changes because of the vibration a fan produces on start up and and during operation, the max weight of a fan is 70lbs.

And I am specifically talking about this bar box. This type of box is can be picked up at any home improvement box store. And they are available because no one buys them. These boxes make the job at the bear minimum 1 hour longer and, and, and that much tougher. Put one in and you will know what I am talking about. But this is the correct way of installing a chandelier or fan. These boxes can be old work(ceiling installed) or new installation(Meaning there is no Sheetrock on the ceiling). The new install is ideal but the world is not Ideal and we need to bite the bullet.

Install: the 4inch hole that is is needed for the box is all you need to install this apparatus in an old work situation. You better hope there is slack on the wire because that brings another situation that will complicate the installation. If you don’t have slack not a biggie just make sure you use the correct connector for the type of wire being used. And if you run into a box that looks like like this:

I am not telling you to run for the hills, but call whom ever and tell them that your going to be late. So this situation is found in turn of the century home where, and if your not sitting down you should, there was a burning fire fed from natural gas to light the room. Now these boxes are not easy, and 100% of the time you will either run away from this or install the fan using the box already there. Now, the box that is already there is rated to hold a fixture with a max weight of 35 to 50lbs. The disclaimer on this site will tell you what you need to know about the liability you take by using these numbers I produce. Generally speaking 50lbs is max for a fan, 70lbs is max for a light. And then you need to take into account the age of the home and if there has anything been done to the home that might have altered the installation of this box and that is including the gas pipe which is used to hold the weight of the box. Now back in the day those gas fixtures weighed well over 50 lbs but things were new. Now 100 years later, we as responsible individuals that we are, need to take into account this and if the home owner comes out with a 100lbs fixture you explain that they need to return it or you need to relocate the whole thing because some times those gas lines are still have gas and they do have pressure behind them so if you open up that cap you will need to find the main gas meter and shut the gas off. It will smell. That gas has been in there for a minimum of 50 years if not more.

Ok now lets talk about the ceiling fan. Most fans sold in stores across the county weight a max of 50lbs. That includes the light. You need to check but rest assure if they bought the fan in America and its UL listed it should be less then 50lbs. My next note is the type of fan. Commercial fans can weight up to 300 lbs and any box will begin to bend at that weight. Then after installation there is a situation called wobbling, this can cause unnecessary stress on the screws used and after time the steel from the fixture can make a cut into those screws over time that eventually will make those screws fail. The wobble can be corrected with a kit supplied by the manufacturer or it can be bought. Use this link if you need one and you have a Home Depot near you. There is direction on how to install it.

Then there is the height of the ceiling that need to be addressed. A minimum of 7 feet needs to be maintained for safety. A fan that is mounted to high is not going to be as affective. Unless the manufacturer designed to be installed at a specific height and there we walk into the conversation of commercial fans which is not very different from a residential fan. You as the installer need to read the directions. Now a residential ceiling fan should be 8 to 9 feet from the floor. Anything more we need to use a bar, or down rod. These bars are for the most part universal, the difference is the finish and if you find yourself with a Karen(a pain in the ass) you will be installing it because the finish paint does not match, so save yourself a headache and install the bar, downrod with one that matches the manufacturer of the fan and color.

Now we come to size. Room size to ceiling fan size is a factor. I should have named this the ceiling fan dilemma. But in realty the bar box is the most difficult part of installing the fan.

Room size relative to fan size

Up to 75 square feet – 29-36 inch fan

76-144 square feet – 36-42 inch fan

145-225 square feet – 44-50 inch fan

226-400 square feet – 50-54 inch

These measurements I got from looking a different manufacturers and 3 web sites. All of them agree with in inches. I guess some manufacturers have a different angle pushing more air, and by pushing more air we increase the amount of work the fan does and this increases the wattage used, then increases the amount you pay per month in electricity. Everything is relative. And by have a larger angle we also reduce the life expectancy of the fan.

That lead us up to the next conversation. And that is how long should they last. A ceiling fan running 24/7 should last 10 years plus. That’s right leave that sucker on and you won’t need to worry about replacing it for 10 plus years. Turning it off and back on will take away from the life expectancy but you will save on electricity. And about that, these calculations are based on a 34-inch fan drawing between 33 to 50 watts on high speed, using the U.S. average residential electricity rate of 16.8¢ per kWh. You will spend about .20 per day spinning that sucker 24/7.

in conclusion, a ceiling fan is the most cost effective appliance to combat air circulation in your home. I personally like my high hats to provide light and the fan in the middle pushing air around this to me is a perfect set up. But that’s me and I don’t need to pay some one to install the fan or lights, I do it myself. Good luck with your project I hope I have answered some of your questions.