Install LED Ceiling Lighting in Master Bedroom

[bud16415]

I don’t want this to be a case of too many cooks, but I will add my couple of ingredients to the soup.



I’m going to agree with @mabloodhound here and leave the fan and its light and two switches alone. That part of it has been working fine for a long time and I see the box on the fan as being a suitable J-box and the lag screws into the support structure as being adequate.



Now the third switch you have. It is likely controlling half of one of the wall outlets would be my guess and would be easy to figure out using a lamp as a tester. If that proves out then you can decide if you want that or not and that can be fixed by unhooking that wire at the outlet and putting in a jumper on the outlet, then pulling that wire back up to the attic space to be the feed for your new lights. If it was set up to feed the whole outlet then you could leave that end alone and connect the switch end into a full time power source in the box and run a new wire from that switch up the wall and into the attic to feed the chain of new LED fixtures. The third option is that switch controls something else or nothing at all. In both cases you need to follow that wire and see where it goes. I found wires in my old house that ran into the attic and were wire nutted off and hidden in the insulation. So anything is possible and you want to figure it out.

After all that is done then you can work on actually selecting some LED fixtures and figuring out how to hook them up.

 

[ctviggen]

I have a similar situation, with a switch that turns on the lights of the ceiling fan (I put the fan itself on a different switch). I was going to use 4 of these (the 4 inch, white, 2700k ones):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072DY3CXF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I hope to be able to run the wiring from the fan/fan box to each of the 4 inch lights in series. From what I remember, the box can handle another set of 14 gauge wires, but there's only one opening remaining, which is this weird C shaped opening (think a circle but with one flat side; I've never seen this opening in a round box before). That's why I bought that fan box I put in my previous post.

This way, one dimming switch will run the fan light and the 4 4-inch down lights. I could put the down lights on their own switch, but that means you have to hit two switches to turn on the overhead lights. Not ideal. Also, I already have a 4 switch box: 1-fan; 2-fan down light; 3-fan up light (yes, this fan has both up and down lights); 4-switched outlet for lamp. That box is packed with wires, and these are all Insteon or Z-wave switches (can control with Alexa), which are large.

 

[EricK]

Someone please correct me if so needed. I'm not an electrician but I think this would be one approach that you may like....

If you do not want to run new Romex down the wall and add a new switch which would require you to remove the junction box and replace it with a larger one to accommodate a fourth switch...

First, add a junction box for your ceiling fan. Then use The Romex that powers your ceiling fan light to power your new recessed lighting. The benefit of this is you already have a switch in place. You can use the ceiling fan junction box to wire nut a new connection. Then, you can purchase a new fan that only requires one power wire that controls the fan and the light via a remote.

I figured since you're going through the effort and cost of installing new lighting a new fan might be in order as well.

 

[bud16415]

I have a similar situation, with a switch that turns on the lights of the ceiling fan (I put the fan itself on a different switch). I was going to use 4 of these (the 4 inch, white, 2700k ones):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072DY3CXF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I hope to be able to run the wiring from the fan/fan box to each of the 4 inch lights in series. From what I remember, the box can handle another set of 14 gauge wires, but there's only one opening remaining, which is this weird C shaped opening (think a circle but with one flat side; I've never seen this opening in a round box before). That's why I bought that fan box I put in my previous post.

This way, one dimming switch will run the fan light and the 4 4-inch down lights. I could put the down lights on their own switch, but that means you have to hit two switches to turn on the overhead lights. Not ideal. Also, I already have a 4 switch box: 1-fan; 2-fan down light; 3-fan up light (yes, this fan has both up and down lights); 4-switched outlet for lamp. That box is packed with wires, and these are all Insteon or Z-wave switches (can control with Alexa), which are large.

Just to make it clear you will be wiring the lamps in parallel not series.

The cable could be viewed as series as it will go from lamp to lamp but the exact electrical connections will be parallel circuit.

 

[bud16415]

Someone please correct me if so needed. I'm not an electrician but I think this would be one approach that you may like....

If you do not want to run new Romex down the wall and add a new switch which would require you to remove the junction box and replace it with a larger one to accommodate a fourth switch...

First, add a junction box for your ceiling fan. Then use The Romex that powers your ceiling fan light to power your new recessed lighting. The benefit of this is you already have a switch in place. You can use the ceiling fan junction box to wire nut a new connection. Then, you can purchase a new fan that only requires one power wire that controls the fan and the light via a remote.

I figured since you're going through the effort and cost of installing new lighting a new fan might be in order as well.

That would work fine. I never used to be a fan of fans on remotes. I bought a fan on CL that had one and I put it in and we love it.

 

[ctviggen]

I can't figure out how to quote. Yes, you are technically correct in that it's in parallel. I have an MSEE and BSEE, so I know what you're saying. As for the wires ,though, they run serially from one to another.

In my current house alone, I've put in 5 ceiling fans and replaced one. In my previous house, I put in at least 3 ceiling fans and replaced one. In my house previous to that one, I "put in" 4 ceiling fans (the boxes were already there). Most of these installation involved cutting out the boxes and installing a 2-gang box, (or just installing a 2-gang box where none existed) then running the appropriate wires to the ceiling fan box, which I also put in., then wiring everything up.

What I've been doing for a while is a making an air "tight" box around the ceiling fan box. So, I attach the ceiling fan box to my 2x (the same height/width as the joists), where the ex is perpendicular between two joists, then put another 2x some distance away from the box. I then seal everything with fire rated caulk or spray foam, and then attach a drywall top, also caulked. This is filled with the normal insulation, paper backed typically.

I plan on doing this for the lights, too.

 

[bud16415]

I can't figure out how to quote. Yes, you are technically correct in that it's in parallel. I have an MSEE and BSEE, so I know what you're saying. As for the wires ,though, they run serially from one to another.

In my current house alone, I've put in 5 ceiling fans and replaced one. In my previous house, I put in at least 3 ceiling fans and replaced one. In my house previous to that one, I "put in" 4 ceiling fans (the boxes were already there). Most of these installation involved cutting out the boxes and installing a 2-gang box, (or just installing a 2-gang box where none existed) then running the appropriate wires to the ceiling fan box, which I also put in., then wiring everything up.

What I've been doing for a while is a making an air "tight" box around the ceiling fan box. So, I attach the ceiling fan box to my 2x (the same height/width as the joists), where the ex is perpendicular between two joists, then put another 2x some distance away from the box. I then seal everything with fire rated caulk or spray foam, and then attach a drywall top, also caulked. This is filled with the normal insulation, paper backed typically.

I plan on doing this for the lights, too.

To quote just hit reply.

I tend to avoid saying series for that reason and sometimes say chain or daisy chain etc.

When I have the ceiling open I will put a short 2x6 across similar to the OP only high enough for a box and the drywall. Then take out the back knockout and drill straight up for the wire. Or bring it in on one of the sides. Makes for a real firm fan mounting without spending the bucks on all the parts.

 

[Benaford]

Interesting product. I’ve been futzing around with ceiling fans while waiting on my led lights to be delivered. Decided to refurbish the existing (original to the house fan) after being unsatisfied with anything I see online currently . As far as the wiring goes, I’m going to leave the fan connected to the 2x6 and wire it to a j-box that will split off the wiring to the ceiling lights. Keep it simple.

 

[joelynnpamplin]

I don't even know how light bulbs can't cope with the lighting of residential premises. Do you want your room to be as bright as in the city square at noon? Even incandescent lamps can provide you with such a bright light. If you paint pictures at night or do crafts, put yourself on a good table lamp with a spotlight made of LEDs. If you want to have enough light in your room to see all the objects, but so that you don't waste too much electricity, you can stick an LED strip around the perimeter of the ceiling. I bought such a tape on https://www.vont.com/product/smart-strip-lights-led-strip-lights/ last year. I haven't changed this tape yet. It perfectly illuminates the room. I adjust her colors according to my mood through the app on my phone.

 

[afjes_2016]

This thread is over a year old.