Light sources are one of the most important elements of any room, no matter where it is located within a dwelling. With proper lighting, even an enclosed space can be used during any time of the day and night. This provides the users of that space with comfort and accessibility during times of need. Before the invention of the readily available power grid, people resorted to burning devices to provide a space with light. We then moved onward and upward with lamps, inset lighting, and entire lighting systems until we’ve arrived at the innovations that we have today. Thankfully, some of these innovations are ones that the properly prepared home owner can handle themselves. In this article, we will review the steps for properly replacing a light fixture. Just one of the many lighting devices that can be found in your home.
Before we move into the proper steps to replace a light fixture, we would like to encourage you to practice safety when attempting this yourself. Working with any electrical project can be dangerous without the right precaution. Make sure the breakers for the rooms you are in are switched off and you are wearing protective gloves as a backup precaution.
6 Steps to Replacing a Light Fixture
Removal:
1. Turn the necessary power off
This may seem obvious to some of you who are reading this article but the first and most important thing you should do is turn off your power. Otherwise, you are leaving yourself highly susceptible to a potential shocking situation. Pun intended!
2. Remove all attachments from the fixture
Take off the light bulb cover/casing and unscrew the lightbulbs or bulb. These have to be removed before you are able to get the remaining casing off.
3. Unscrew the screws or nuts attaching the base to the ceiling box.
The majority of the screws that hold the base onto the ceiling box will either be a phillips head or flat head. At times, these differ though so be sure to check if you have the right screwdriver before digging into the project.
4. Pull down the base and remove the electrical tape or wire nuts from the white, black, and green wires.
Throw away any previously used electrical tape and replace it with new electrical tape when completing the next few steps. The old tape can unravel over time and cause an electrical fire if active.
Replacement:
5. Attach the wires from the new fixture with wire nuts to the matching wires in the box.
6. Raise and place in position the new base plate so you can screw the new bolts through it to attach it to the mounting strap.
7. Screw in new light bulbs and install the cover
8. Turn on the power.