Hanging a new light fixture is among the quickest and easiest ways to change the look and feel of a room. Most fixtures work according to the same simple principle of attaching two insulated wires to the house circuit --- a black "hot" wire and a white neutral wire --- as well as a bare ground wire. Fixtures come in many shapes and sizes. Get one that's at least as big at the base as the old one so you're not exposing previously covered ceiling space that might not be painted.
Instructions
1. Turn off the electricity to the existing fixture at the circuit box of your home.
2. Remove the screws that hold the fixture to the electrical box so you can lower the fixture enough to access the wires behind it. There should a white wire, a black wire and a bare copper grounding wire.
3. Disconnect the wires, unscrewing the wire nuts or electrical tape that holds them together. Pull the light free. If there's a mounting bracket on the electrical box from the light, remove the bracket by taking out the screws that hold it there.
4. Find the mounting bracket for the new fixture. Hold the bracket to the electrical box and line up the screw holes. Secure it with the provided screws.
5. Twist the grounding wire around the green grounding screw on the bracket. Tighten the screw.
6. Position the light fixture near the electrical box. Connect the white wire from the box and the white wire from the light by holding them next to each other and twisting a wire nut over both of them together. Repeat this step to connect the black wires from the light and the box.
7. Tuck the wire connections into the electrical box. Set the fixture against the mounting bracket. Secure it through the screw holes with the screws that came with it. Turn the power back on.
Tags: from light, mounting bracket, screws that, white wire, black wire, bracket electrical