Ceiling fans are great! They offer a way to keep cool that uses much less electricity than constantly running an air conditioner. The standard central AC in a home uses about 3,500 watts per hour to provide cooling. A ceiling fan, on the other hand, uses around 75 watts per hour. You may end up paying around $2.75 to run a ceiling fan during the year. The cost to run an air conditioner … well, it’s a lot higher, let’s leave it at that.
But ceiling fans need to have proper installation from an electrician in Lancaster, NY or they can become their own source of problems. When a ceiling fan malfunctions, it will also need a professional electrician to either fix or replace it. Below we’re going to look at a few common ceiling fan problems you might encounter that our trained and certified electricians can repair.
The wobbling ceiling fan
This is a common trouble with ceiling fans, and there are various reasons it can happen. First, the fan may have had a bad installation. An amateur or anyone who rushed the job may not have secured the fan to the ceiling correctly. This isn’t often noticeable at first, but the movement of the fan will cause it to start coming loose. It could also happen due to normal wear and tear over time. Regardless of the cause, you’ll want a professional to locate what has come loose and secure the fan. Otherwise, the fan’s wobbly movements will cause further damage and may cause it to fall out of the ceiling.
The flickering ceiling fan light
Although not all ceiling fans have lights in them, the majority do because the combination is a great way to add a new and attractive light fixture to a room. A flickering light could just be a bulb that needs to be changed or is loose in its socket. But it could also warn of a wiring problem either in the fan and where it’s attached to the rest of the electrical system, or power surges that are occurring throughout the house. Check if other lights are flickering, because you’ll want an electrician to fix this problem before it damages appliances and fixtures.
The fan is making odd sounds
Fans don’t make much noise when they run aside from the whoosh of the air movements they create. They’re certainly far quieter than air conditioners, another benefit they offer. But if you start to hear new noises from the fan, such as buzzing or grinding sounds, it’s an indication there may be an electrical fault with the fan or its motors are wearing down. You’ll want an electrician to look into this, since we don’t recommend trying to make repairs to the fan yourself.
The fan just won’t turn on
We’ve saved the most basic problem for last: you flip the switch, and the fan doesn’t do anything. We recommend checking the circuit breaker first, and if that’s not the problem there’s a range of different electrical and mechanical issues that could be at fault. No worries, we’ll find out what’s wrong and fix it.
Scherer Electric is Western New York’s Favorite Electrician! Call us for any electrical service you need.
