A correctly installed ceiling fan is one of the cheapest comfort upgrades you can make to a Melbourne home. A modern BLDC fan makes you feel cooler by moving air across the room, rather than lowering the room's air temperature, and costs around 1-2 cents per hour to run, versus 30-50 cents for ducted air-con. Millar Electrics installs ceiling fans across all room types and ceiling heights, from standard 2.4m bedrooms through to two-storey stairwell voids and raked cathedral ceilings.
The work is more involved than swapping a light fitting. The fan motor has to be fixed to a structural ceiling joist or a fan-rated mounting bracket, not just to the plasterboard. The cable needs to be sized correctly for the motor draw, the wall control needs to support variable-speed and reversible operation, and the fan needs to be balanced and run-tested after install so it doesn't develop the wobble or hum that ruins a good fan within a year.
Standard installations
For a standard ceiling height with an existing wired ceiling rose, the install runs about an hour. We swap the rose, install a fan-rated bracket fixed to the ceiling joist, mount the fan, run the wiring through the bracket and out to the wall control, balance the blades and run-test on each speed setting. We supply and install all major brands or work with your supplied unit.
Raked, cathedral and high installations
Raked or cathedral ceilings need a downrod kit matched to the ceiling pitch: too short and the blades hit the rake, too long and the fan loses efficiency. We measure the rake angle, calculate the right downrod, and install with the safe minimum blade-to-floor clearance. For two-storey stairwell or foyer installations we use rated ladders or platforms and rod-extended fans designed for the application.
Adding a new fan circuit
If there's no existing wiring at the ceiling location we run a new cable from the nearest junction box or directly from the switchboard. The route depends on ceiling cavity access, single- versus double-storey construction and where the wall control will sit. We confirm the route at the quote stage so there are no surprises on the day.
Standards we work to
Fixed wiring to the fan circuit is installed to AS/NZS 3000 (the Wiring Rules), with cable sizing per AS/NZS 3008 for the motor draw and run length. Where the fitting includes integrated lighting it meets AS/NZS 60598 (luminaires). The mounting bracket has to be fixed to a structural joist or be a fan-rated mounting bracket; plasterboard alone is not a compliant fixing for the dead and dynamic load of a fan motor. RCD protection on the lighting and power circuits feeding the fan is required by AS/NZS 3000 for new installations.