Assembly and installation of a chandelier: detailed instructions for installation and connection with your own hands
Selecting and installing lighting fixtures is one of the most enjoyable stages of home interior design.A beautiful chandelier with a spectacular design can become the “heart” of the entire design of an apartment or house. Properly selected lighting can highlight all the advantages of a room and hide possible flaws.
However, assembling and installing a chandelier is often associated with certain difficulties. Problems especially often arise when connecting models with an abundance of lampshades to a switch with several keys.
But often homeowners can still do without the services of a specialist and install the chandelier themselves. In this material we will look at the main stages of assembly and installation, talk about the intricacies of the electrical connection of the lighting device and provide step-by-step installation instructions with visual photos and useful videos.
The content of the article:
Stages of assembling and connecting a chandelier
In fact, the installation of any chandelier goes through two main stages: mechanical and electrical. In the first case, all parts are connected into a single structure. During electrical assembly, the technician needs to correctly connect all the wires, dividing them into separate groups, in order to correctly connect the device to switch.
Let's take a closer look at the main stages of installing and connecting a chandelier
Stage #1 - mechanical assembly of the structure
Most lighting manufacturers supplement their products with detailed assembly diagrams, which greatly facilitate the process of connecting all the parts.However, even if there are no instructions, you can understand the structure of even the most complex structure.
Most often, suppliers package disparate parts of a chandelier to form functional blocks. The lampshades are placed separately from the horns, as is the body itself, terminals and other details.
Once you are satisfied that the chandelier is complete and the individual elements are intact, you can proceed to assembling the device.
Assembly order:
- Assemble the upper body. To do this, install a decorative plate on the chandelier rod, securing the structure with a nut.
- Attach the horns on which the lampshades will be located. To do this, unscrew the decorative nut above the protective housing cover. After removing the nut, place the horn in the special hole on the body and secure it with the same nut.
After mechanical assembly of the chandelier, it is worth checking the symmetry of the horns. If the design looks organic, carefully tighten the fasteners using a wrench. The decor and lampshades are installed after connecting the device to the electrical network and installing the chandelier on the ceiling.
Stage #2 - dividing the wires into groups
The method of distribution of wires depends on the type of switch with which the structure will be interfaced. Connecting to a single-key product is the simplest, but an electrical installation device with two or more working keys requires a more complex approach, since in this case the wires are distributed into several groups.
Each horn of the structure has its own wires, which are connected to the main cable of the chandelier. For convenience, their winding (insulation) is designed in different colors.
It is necessary to divide the cables into groups. For switches with one and two keys this will be done according to different principles.
If an electrical installation product with one key is responsible for turning the chandelier on and off, the wires are connected as follows:
- Using the twisting method, connect all the neutral wires from the horns together. The insulation of their veins is usually blue or light blue.
- Connect all phase wires in a similar way. The shell of this vein is colored brown, red, white, gray and other colors.
That's all - the wire groups are ready for further connection.
If the power wire for connecting the chandelier has three working wires (L1, L2 and N), the lighting device can be connected to a double switch.
In this case, when disassembling the wires from the horns, the number of core groups increases to three. The first remains zero, and the phase wires must be evenly distributed into two groups - L1 and L2. Subsequently, when connected, they will be dispersed over both switch keys.
Stage #3 - attaching the chandelier to the ceiling
You should first attach the structure of the lighting fixture using the most suitable method for this.
For installation on concrete surfaces, a hook or mounting strip is most often used.
Stage #4 - phase search and connection
Now all that remains is to connect the groups of wires to the supply wires. But color coding The cores of home wiring may not always be clear - sometimes all the wires may be painted white. Therefore, before connecting, it is advisable to ring the wires with an indicator screwdriver or a multimeter to determine the phase and zero in the cables.
Finding a phase using a screwdriver
An indicator screwdriver is convenient in cases where the electrical wiring cable consists of two wires. Checking phase and zero is extremely quick and simple.
To do this, it is necessary to de-energize the line by turning off the corresponding machine, after which strip the edge of the veins, freeing approximately 1-2 cm from the insulation.
Then spread the wires apart to avoid their accidental contact. After turning on the power to the line, take an indicator screwdriver. When the working part of the screwdriver touches the phase wire, the device will give a light signal. If, when interacting with the core, the light on the screwdriver does not light up, this means that we have a neutral wire.
When piercing wires with a screwdriver, it is important to remember safety precautions and not touch the working part of the device or the exposed wires.
Determining phase using a multimeter
A multimeter will be needed in cases where the home electrical cable, in addition to the phase and neutral cores, also has a grounding line. Since the indicator screwdriver reacts only to the phase wire, it is impossible to distinguish the neutral conductor from the ground conductor with its help.
In this case, you need to use a multimeter by following a few simple steps:
- After determining the phase using a special screwdriver, take a multimeter and turn it on in voltage measurement mode of 220 V or more.
- Connect one probe of the device to the phase wire.
- After this, alternately connect the second probe to the two remaining wires and record the values produced by the device.
The data obtained should be interpreted as follows:
- if, when connecting a phase and an unknown wire at the same time, the multimeter signals a voltage of 220 V, then the second wire is neutral;
- if the values are significantly lower than the normal voltage in a household electrical network (220 V), then the conductor under study is protective (grounding).
After determining the purpose of all wire strands, you can turn off the power and begin connecting the chandelier cable.
Connecting chandelier wires
Connecting the cables of the lighting fixture to the power wire is the most critical step in connecting the chandelier.
To connect, it is necessary to connect the prepared groups of wires with the corresponding cores of the cable coming out of the ceiling, which will supply current to the entire structure. What are PPE caps used for? Vago terminals.
Special connector caps, which should additionally protect the junction of the cores, are often supplied with the chandelier. To install this part, carefully screw the plastic cap over the twist.
If the manufacturer has not supplemented the package with a PPE cap, it should be purchased separately, since when electrically connecting a lighting device, it is unacceptable to limit yourself to just twisting. We recommend that you read more about connection methods electrical wires.
After this work, you should carefully place the wires at the base of the chandelier and you can put on the housing cover.
After connecting the wires to the network, the chandelier is completely installed: final fastening of the decorative cover, installation of shades and decorative elements.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
The author of the following video talks about connecting different types of chandeliers and explains how to connect a chandelier from a single switch to a double one:
The creator of this video reveals the intricacies of installing a chandelier on a French stretch ceiling:
A lighting installer talks about the features of connecting and setting up an LED chandelier with a remote control:
Basic knowledge in the field of electrical installation will make it possible to independently assemble and connect a chandelier even with the most unusual design. But it is important to remember safety precautions and be sure to turn off the power to the line when connecting the lighting fixture.
However, when purchasing a model with a very complex configuration or if you want to use a switch with three or more keys, you should still contact a professional electrician. The technician will be able to correctly distribute the wires and correctly connect the device to the network.
Do you still have questions about connecting the chandelier? You can ask our experts and other site visitors - the feedback form is located below. Also here you can leave recommendations and share installation secrets that will be useful to other users.
