Do-It-Yourself Home Electric Lighting

In the often intimidating field of electrical wiring, lighting jobs are among the easiest tasks to do yourself. All light fixtures in 120-volt electrical systems are wired the same way and include a black "hot" wire, white "neutral" wire and bare copper ground wire. The shapes, sizes and designs of light fixtures vary indefinitely, but style does not affect the basic wiring technique. Learning a few basic electrical wiring principles and following all electrical safety guidelines can make almost any lighting task a do-it-yourself task, such as replacing an existing light fixture with a new fixture. Installing light fixtures in locations that do not have an electrical connection, however, is best left to a professional. Always turn off the electricity before working with electrical wiring.

Phillips head and/or flat screwdriver
Wire nuts
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Light fixture(s)
Pliers

Instructions

- 1
  Turn off the electricity by switching off the circuit breaker that controls the power to the area where you plan to work. As you turn the circuit breakers off and on, have a helper let you know when the power turns off and on.
- 2
  Remove an existing light fixture by taking out all mounting screws that hold the fixture in place. Disconnect the wires by unscrewing the wire nuts and pulling the wires apart.
- 3
  Cut off the exposed ends of the wires coming from your home's electrical box using wire cutters. Re-strip the black and white wires with wire strippers, exposing 1/2 inch of the copper conductor.
- 4
  Wire a new light fixture. Twist the black wire from the light fixture together with the black wire from your home's electrical box clockwise using pliers. Secure the black wires by screwing a wire nut onto them clockwise. Repeat this process to connect the two white wires and the two bare copper ground wires.
- 5
  Mount the new light fixture according to its manufacturer's instructions.

Do it Yourself LED Light

Handmade Paper Hanging Lanterns

Lighting