To cover your apartment, you do not have to resort to the help of professionals. It is not difficult to connect the lighting device yourself. As a rule, regardless of the type of chandelier, the connection principle is not much different. The most important thing is to observe safety precautions. After determining the format of the lamp and the type of switch, you can safely proceed to connect the chandelier using the information below.
How to choose a chandelier?
It depends entirely on your personal preferences and imagination. Today, construction markets and specialized stores are full of a great variety of lighting products. Differences of fixtures are built mainly on the principles of mounting a chandelier. This is either a ceiling mount or a suspended structure. But the appearance varies both in the number of horns and in the intensity of lighting. You can choose the design and complexity for every taste and color.
The difference in connection principles is not significant. It doesn’t matter whether you choose a chandelier with one lampshade or decide to connect a chandelier with a remote control. It is worth paying attention to which lamps are provided in the lamp you like - modern LEDs or the usual halogen, fluorescent or, in their own way, outdated incandescent lamps. Choose a chandelier that suits you in terms of price and quality and the design you like. After purchasing a lighting device, it is necessary to conduct a check in the store for the integrity of the product and for the complete availability of components.
What do you need to connect?
Regardless of whether a professional is involved in connecting electrical appliances or not, safety should always be remembered. For work with bare wires it is better to wear rubber gloves. To clean the insulation, you will need a construction knife or nippers, with rubberized handles. Some types of wires cannot be cleaned with wire cutters or pliers without damaging the cross section. To insulate twists, it is best to purchase special plastic caps or terminals. Insulation tape should be avoided. This method is not safe, the electrical tape quickly dries up, which can lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of short circuits or fire. A test screwdriver with a light indicator or a voltmeter is required to recognize the purpose of the wires.
Depending on the type of chandelier (for example, if additional installation of the fixture for the chandelier is required), a perforator, dowels, screws, screwdrivers and a drill may be needed.
Important to remember
When working independently with electricity, it is not necessary to take special courses or study special materials, but it is very important to remember a few points:
- The handle of any instrument used must be well insulated to prevent electric shock.
- When working with bare wires, it is imperative to wear rubber gloves, they will serve as good protection against high voltage.
- Be sure to turn off the electricity before starting work. Do not just turn off the light on the switch, but completely de-energize the room.
- It is important to properly distribute the wires as intended before connecting them. Using ordinary markers of different colors, mark each wire, both on the wiring of the room and on the installed lamp.
- Check the functionality of the control devices before direct use. Testers, multimeters, voltmeters and control screwdrivers must be checked before starting work. You can check the tool at a working outlet or in the distribution panel.
- In no case do not interconnect wires from different alloys. This will cause oxidation, which will cause overheating and, at best, short circuit, at worst - fire.
- Mount the fixtures for the chandelier firmly. Carefully check the number of mounting grooves, and regardless of the configuration (for example, in the bracket there are 4 holes, and the dowel 2), it is better to fix the dowel nails in all the provided grooves.
Chandelier Connection Diagram
Before starting work, make sure that the wires coming out of the ceiling are assigned. An indicator screwdriver will help. As a rule, 3 wires come out: working 0 conductor, phase, protective 0 conductor. If the indicator lights up when you touch the screwdriver, this is a phase, if not, 0 wire. Having determined the neutral wire, mark it with a marker, then turn off the electricity in the room. Ideally, the wires coming out from above and the wires of the chandelier match in color. In this case, the cords are twisted together and the joints are insulated. The easiest and safest way is to insulate the wires with special plastic nozzles.
This is the simplest method of connecting a chandelier to a standard switch. When the light is turned on, all the lights will light up at the same time.
Connecting a chandelier to a double switch
In this embodiment, the process is not very complicated, you should also first consider the purpose of the outgoing wires. One in any case will be grounding, that is, zero, and two phase - for each switch key. It is important that the switch is turned on at this moment.
Then the electricity in the room is turned off, the “zero” is also connected to a similar wire of the chandelier, and the phases are distributed between the horns. The connection of wires is insulated similarly to the first method, with plastic caps. This connection of the chandelier allows you to adjust the intensity of the lighting in the room. It is very comfortable.
If a design with a remote control
How is the chandelier connected with the remote control? The modern world is replete with a variety of lighting devices. Chandeliers with remote control are in great demand. They can adjust the intensity of lighting, change colors, turn on and off the light according to the set time in the timer, and in the most innovative models, the light can be combined with music, enjoying unique lighting effects and light music.
Installation of such a luminaire is a bit more complicated than connecting a chandelier to a double switch. It is necessary to carefully check the equipment at the time of purchase. When connecting the wires, an assistant is required. He is needed to hold the chandelier while you connect the wires.
The first step is to determine the purpose of the outgoing wires. On such devices, a controller is installed in the inner part, the wires are already separated. Next, the fixture for the chandelier is installed on the ceiling. It is important to correctly markup for fixtures and drill holes on the markings so that the chandelier is exactly in place. Depending on the installation method, 2 to 6 dowels are required. Try to fasten as firmly as possible for your own safety. The wires are neatly routed into the installed bracket. The wire connection is best done through the terminal. Then a phased assembly of the remaining parts is performed.
It remains to turn on the electricity, check the operability of all the provided functions and reap the benefits of the work done.
If a five-lamp chandelier
How to connect a chandelier with 5 bulbs? Such designs are a real decoration of the interior. They are multifaceted, amazingly shimmer and well illuminate the room. The chandelier connection can be either a two-gang switch (lighting can be adjusted) or a standard, single. In the latter case, all the lamps will turn on immediately. The choice is made solely from personal preference, since there are no special difficulties in the installation.
Work begins with a standard definition of wire assignment. Phase and ground are detected. The chandelier is wired. As a rule, 3 lamps are connected on one key, 2 on the other. After the wires are "scattered", the connection is not difficult. Be sure to turn off the electricity in the room in which the work is carried out. The wires of the chandelier and the wiring of the room are connected. For connection it is best to use terminals. It is convenient, neat, reliable.
Connecting the switch to a one-button chandelier is even easier. No need to distribute the wires between the buttons of the switch, and all 5 cords are directly connected to each other and connected to electricity. Before starting work, you still need to distribute the phase and grounding, and only then proceed with connecting to the wires of the chandelier.
What to do if the number of wires does not match?
After an exhausting trip for the chandelier, having reviewed thousands of options, hundreds of species, having finally found the very one, when you try to install the device, it turns out that the number of wires for the apartment and the chandelier does not match. What to do? You need to install it anyway. In fact, the difference in the number of wires is not a problem. There are several options for attaching the chandelier to the ceiling:
- 2 wires emerge from the ceiling, and 3 or more from the light fixture.
- There are 3 free cords from the ceiling, and only 2 from the chandelier.
Both cases are discussed below.
If there are more wires in the chandelier than in the wiring
First of all, you need to disassemble the wires. As a rule, if there is a lot of carob chandelier, it is designed for two key switches. Hence the number of wires. In modern chandeliers, the connection diagram is already distributed. The wiring inside the chandelier is divided according to the number of lamps. Several options are determined: change the single-key switch to a two-key (then you can adjust the degree of illumination), or connect all the lights to one switch.
If the switch is replaced, then we connect the wires of the chandelier using the terminal and create a jumper for parallel connection of cartridges. And then - the standard connection of wires according to the scheme described above.
It is very important when buying to pay attention to the wiring diagram of the chandelier recommended by the manufacturer. This will protect against errors and facilitate the installation of lighting equipment in the room.
If there are more wires in the wiring than in the chandelier
In this case, most likely the chandelier is single-beam, and the two-key switch. Getting started - determination of phase conductors, it is necessary to mark “zero”. Further there are several ways. The easiest way to connect a chandelier with two wires is to connect the phase, “zero” and check whether the light is on. If lit, then isolate the connections and secure the chandelier.
It is more difficult to understand the wires and make the connection using the terminal. It is necessary to connect the necessary wires, and connect the cords of the switch with a jumper. You can connect the wires of the switch in the terminal in one terminal, and create a jumper directly on the switch.
Conclusion
So, we found out how to connect the chandelier in the house with our own hands. Following the simple tips outlined above, it is quite easy to independently install any lighting device. The main thing is to remember safety precautions, carefully study the connection diagram before starting work and concentrate as much as possible. Doing something for your home with your own hands is more pleasant and much cheaper than calling a team of professionals. A chandelier is not such a complicated device, so almost anyone can cope with the installation, even without experience.