# Forum Home Renovation Lighting  Replacing a light fitting with a fan light.

## Pearso

We are replacing a light fitting in one of our bedrooms with a fan/light, moving the switch. How many extra wires will I need to run from the light to the new switch to run the fan.   Sparkies don't be alarmed I won't be hooking it up just running the wiring and drilling hole for new switch to help cut the cost a bit. 
Cheers
Pearso.

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## Oldsaltoz

None. The fan/light uses the old light cable.

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## applied

generaly for a light + ceiling fan you need 1 extra single double insulated wire between the switch and fan to power the fan as the light already has a feed and a switched wire.

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## China

I am not a electicion, although I have had over the years many fan/lights installed and have never needed any extra wireing

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## BRADFORD

That's interesting

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## applied

> I am not a electicion, although I have had over the years many fan/lights installed and have never needed any extra wireing

  This is true only for the type that come supplied with remote controllers. 
The remote control replaces the light switch Making it a isolation switch. 
For the hardwired models you will need a extra SDI.

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## China

Yes mine were the remote versions

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## witclan

Depends on the new unit. Generally the new Light fan will come with a switch, How many switches? as you need one switch wire from each switch.to the light fan unit.If it has a fan and four heat lamps it will need one wire for the  light one for fan one for two of the heat lamps and one more for the other two heat lamps
If it has only two heat lamps it will be one for the Light, one for the fan and one for the two heat lamps. Cable is cheap so run two twin actives and one single to cover everything.

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## applied

> Depends on the new unit. Generally the new Light fan will come with a switch, How many switches? as you need one switch wire from each switch.to the light fan unit.If it has a fan and four heat lamps it will need one wire for the  light one for fan one for two of the heat lamps and one more for the other two heat lamps
> If it has only two heat lamps it will be one for the Light, one for the fan and one for the two heat lamps. Cable is cheap so run two twin actives and one single to cover everything.

  I guess people who can't read put heat lamps in there bedroom.

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## Kevin_Baker

You won't need to drill another hole for the switch, unless you've got an architrave switch. The fan will come with a new standard-size switch and knob mech/plate. 
You will need to run an additional SDI (single double insulated) wire up to the lighting point, typically ~1.5mm. The only problem is that if you've got the switch plate pulled off while running the additional wire, you'll still have the live wire running in to the back of the existing light switch. Isolating at the meter box will sort this out, but make sure you (at the very least) try and turn the light on to make sure it's actually isolated! 
If you are in a situation where you can't run an additional wire (i.e. bottom floor of a double story), then you can use the remotes - as someone else mentioned, the switch then becomes an isolation switch, with the remote controlling the fan motor and light.

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