When home improvement plans call for new lighting, there are several options from which to choose. Surface-mounted, track, and recessed fixtures all come in a wide variety of styles and price ranges to suit many different lighting and budget needs. But to make them work, you have to get the power to the lights, which means running wire.

As with any electrical project, the first and most important step is to disconnect power to the circuit by removing the fuse or switching off the circuit breaker. Use a circuit tester (also called a neon tester) to confirm the circuit is dead. This will ensure no unpleasant surprises.

Once the power is off, there are three simple ways to get power to a light fixture: 1) end-of-circuit, 2) middle-of-circuit, and 3) end-of-circuit with switch loop.

All three ways to wire are simple, but, depending upon your specific needs and the type of fixtures you are installing, you will want to pick the most appropriate one.

End-of-circuit
The standard end-of-circuit wiring is the simplest strategy when wiring light fixtures and is especially handy if you are doing major projects where open walls allow you to run wire unfettered.

To wire end-of-circuit, simply run electrical line straight from the switch box to where you are going to install the light fixture. This single source of wiring makes it easy to install fixtures down the line. Once you have the first light installed, you can run another off that line to power the rest of the room. Just make sure you are not overloading your fuse box.

Middle-of-circuit
Middle-of-circuit wiring is a bit more complex than end-of-circuit because there are simply more wires to contend with. When more than one set of wires comes into the fixture box, the wiring is considered middle-of-circuit because the power comes into the box, through the light, and out to other fixtures.

When wiring a fixture middle-of-circuit, make sure all the white wires are connected together and all the black wires are connected together; this includes the wires for the light fixture. By doing this, you allow the electricity to not only power the light you are installing, but you also complete the circuit for fixtures “downstream.”

End-of-circuit with switch loop
When the light fixture is installed with wires from the power source before the switch, this is called a switch loop. Wires come from the junction box or subpanel, then go into the fixture, and then to the switch that controls the light. Often this is the case when installing a garage light, where the switch is farther from the power source than the fixture.

The important thing to remember when wiring end-of-circuit with a switch loop is that both wires coming out of the fixture will be “hot,” or powered, because there is no break in the circuit before the light fixture. Wire the fixture as you normally would, but mark the white wire that is normally neutral as hot with either black paint or tape as it leaves the fixture box and also on the switch end.