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jane__ny

Ceiling fan with a wall switch

17 years ago

Looking for one wired for a wall switch. I'd like a nice fan with a light but they all have pull chains or remotes. Remotes last about 1/2 hour in my house. I've looked at various websites but they seem so complicated to order.

I'd appreciate someone showing me their ceiling fan/light and how they bought it.

Thanks,

Jane

Comments (10)

  • 17 years ago

    We have a Hunter fan in an arts and crafts style that is in the music room and is wired to the wall switch. The switch has a number of buttons, including one that just turns on the lights, three buttons for fan speeds, and a dimmer switch. We purchased it to work with the Hunter fan, and I have seen them at hardware stores. No remote needed.

  • 17 years ago

    You can get a wall switch at Lowes that controls both the light and fan. It's called Lutron Dual Slide-to-off Dimmer/Fan Speed control. Works great.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes

  • 17 years ago

    I put in wall switches to control the ceiling fans I already had in my kids' rooms. I got them at Lowe's and I think they were Hunter brand at about $23 each IIRC.

    They were simple to install; I did it myself. Remotes would have lasted less than 5 minutes in my house as well.

    You can buy most any fan and just switch out your wall switch for one of these. I love them because there is a button to control the light, and a set of buttons for fan speed.

    Anita

  • 17 years ago

    We have Hunter fans, they're all wired to wall switches - that is, we have to pull the chain to set the speed, but then just turn them on and off from the wall.

    BTW, I was shocked at how much the varies for the same fans. The last one we got was $169 at Home Depot (online only) and I ordered from another online retailer for $99, no tax and free shipping.

  • 17 years ago

    Our remote for the fan came with a wall mount and that's what we did, mounted it at chair rail height. It's nice because it controls all functions of the fan and light, including dimming, changing speed, reversing speed, etc. It's a Hunter Douglas

  • 17 years ago

    My sister has a wall switch for her fan that is a remote. You can leave the remote control fastened to the wall (where the switch is) or you can take it off and use it as a remote. I find it handy for her fan, which is in a bedroom, because you can put the remote next to the bed and turn off the fan during the night without having to get out of bed.

    I don't know if the remote/switch came with the fan or is a separate product. I could ask her if you want me to.

  • 17 years ago

    Hi,
    We got a wall control switch for our ceiling fan/light. The switch brand is Harbor Breeze and came from HD or Lowes. It has the slide, etc like pagram described and was only about $17. It works great and even though it was installed by our contractor, I think it looked like the directions were really simple. It works with any brand fan I believe. Go for it---you'll love the convenience.

  • 17 years ago

    I have the light switches listed below. They sell them at Home Depot. The remote mechanism, so that the switch can manage the fan functions, needs to be installed in the fan. My fan, Modern Fans, comes with a different type of wall switch and remotes that allow you to control the light and the speed of the fan. Casablanca also sells these switches.
    Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Lutron Fan and Light Switch

  • 17 years ago

    If you are replacing a ceiling light fixture with a fan, it will be controlled by the wall switch. With maybe an optional remote.

    Won't it?

  • 17 years ago

    To echo some of the other posters, I'm pretty sure you can do this with any fan. It's not the fan that determines the switch, it's the wiring.

    Either the fan and light can be wired to one single switch (like yours), or they can be wired to separate switches. Separate switches require extra wiring, because the light and the fan have to be wired separately.

    We wanted our fan and light controlled by separate switches - here's what we did:

    1. Ran new wiring in the attic from the fan to the switch

    2. Replaced the old switch with something similar to this: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100059262

    3. Re-connected the fan to the (new) wiring coming out of the ceiling. Instead of two connections (one for power, one for neutral), there are now three connections (one for fan power, one for light power, and one neutral). (There's also a ground, of course.) I had to get help on the electrical forum for exact wiring instructions, both from the fan to the ceiling wiring, and from the ceiling wiring to the switch.

    You could hire an electrician to do the wiring - it probably wouldn't cost much more than buying a new fan.