A ceiling fan costs a few cents an hour to run and takes the edge off a Newcastle summer night. We fit it to a joist that will hold it, wire it to a switch or a remote, and balance it so it doesn't wobble.
NSW electrical contractor Lic. 000000C (demo)
Sample review
Three DC fans in the bedrooms, all on existing light points. Done before lunch, not a wobble in any of them, and the boxes went with them. We've barely run the air con since.
Sample review · Tallowood Electrical is a fictional business
What's involved
A split system cools a room fast, but it costs far more to run than a fan. A good DC ceiling fan draws around 30 watts on high, so running fans in the bedrooms and the split system only on the worst days is the cheapest way through a Newcastle summer.
Most of the fans we fit go onto an existing light point. The rest need a new point and a wall switch, which is where the price changes. Either way we check the ceiling first, because a fan on plasterboard alone will wobble and work itself loose.
Demo figures: fitting a fan where a light point already exists usually costs $150 to $300 per fan, plus the fan. A new point with its own switch runs $250 to $450.
What moves the price is the ceiling, not the fan. A raked ceiling needs a longer downrod, a two-storey house needs the cable run between floors, and a low roof space takes longer to work in. The quote is free, and our electrician cost guide has prices for other common jobs.
Swapping an old fan for a new one is usually the quickest job of all, because the fixing and the wiring are already there. If the old fan wobbled, we check why before the new one goes up.
Fans rarely need more from your switchboard. A new split system often does, and plenty of older Newcastle boards have no room for it. If you're planning both, we can price them together, and our switchboard upgrades page explains when a board needs replacing first.
FAQ
Demo figures, for a fictional business: fitting a fan where a light point already exists usually costs $150 to $300 per fan, plus the fan. A new point with its own wall switch runs $250 to $450. Two or more fans on one visit cost less each, because the call-out and set-up are paid once.
Yes. In NSW, connecting a ceiling fan to the fixed wiring is electrical work that only a licensed electrician can do. A DIY fan can also void your home insurance, and a fan that isn't fixed to a joist properly can come down.
Usually, yes. Most fans go straight onto an existing light point, and many come with a light of their own. We check the ceiling above first, because the fan needs a solid fixing to a joist or a bracket, not just the plasterboard.
DC fans cost more up front but run quieter, use roughly half the power, and usually have more speeds and a remote. AC fans are cheaper and simpler to replace. For a bedroom, most people end up preferring DC for the quiet.
Often, yes. In a flat-roof extension or a fibro cottage with almost no roof space, we can run the cable through the wall or in a neat surface channel. We'll tell you at the quote which way your ceiling allows.
About an hour per fan onto an existing light point, a little longer where we add a new switch. Three or four fans in a house is usually a half-day job, and we take the boxes and packaging away with us.