Can You Have A Dimmer Switch On A Ceiling Fan

A dimmer switch should not be used as a motor speed control.

Can you have a dimmer switch on a ceiling fan.

A dimmer switch as the name suggests lets you control the intensity of the light produced from the light to which it is connected such as a ceiling fan with a built in lighting fixture. Some can even operate a dimmer on the lights. If you don t enjoy using your ceiling fan s pull levers to control the light and speed of the fan you can always install a dual dimmer switch instead to give you more customization of your ceiling fan. If you re really ambitious you could tear into your walls rewire the ceiling fan and install the desired switches.

If your ceiling fan has wiring already in place where you have a separate switch for fan control then you can have the separate controls wired to independent switches. In this circumstance the light kit could be connected to a dimmer switch and the fan motor connected to a toggle switch. The wall dimmer switch reduces power flow and interferes with the fan control. The ceiling fan lights will be off and the fan blades will stop turning when you turn off the correct breaker.

The more complicated answer we are engineers after all. A remote can speed up or slow down the fan turn the fan on and off or turn the lights connected to the ceiling fan on and off. You may need an electrician for this. A fan speed control may be used for a compatible ceiling fan motor.

Replace the wall dimmer switch with an on off switch. But that could end up being a lot of work especially if you don t know what you re doing. Quick facts about ceiling fan controls. You cannot use a dimmer switch on a fan motor but you can find fan speed controllers why.

This will allow you to control the light intensity and the fan speed which can not be achieved if you re only using the fan s chains. 3 hold a noncontact voltage tester against the ceiling fan wall switch cover plate. If you don t have a wall switch for both your fan and light you won t be able to use smart switches like i described above. Dimmer switch ceiling fan compatibility.

A regular dimmer switch simply reduces the voltage. That works with lights but will burn out a motor and maybe burn down the house a fan speed controller is a much more complex electronic device that reduces the amperage to the motor without reducing the voltage avoiding this kind of innocent mistake.