Converting Ceiling Fan light from Intermediate(E17) to Medium base so you can use CFLs
January 7th, 2008 Tony Primerano
Up until a few months ago, all of my bedroom ceiling fans used Compact Florescent bulbs (CFLs). Back in October I bought a Hampton Bay Ceiling fan for Dani’s room and when I installed the light fixture I noticed it had a different socket type. It used Intermediate base bulbs (also known as E17). These bulbs are rare and there is no CFL option. So I went back to Home Depot and sure enough all the manufacturers were starting to use these things. The Home Depot guy suspected it was a conspiracy between the ceiling fan companies and the bulb manufacturer. There is only a single brand of intermediate base bulbs at Home Depot so this made a little sense. They also cost as much as a CFL!
I had no desire to use these bulbs so I started looking into converting my base to use the standard medium base socket. I saw a medium base for a ceiling fan display model at Home Depot but they wouldn’t sell it to me and it was no longer going to be carried. The plot thickened. So I looked on the Lowes website and I found a medium base socket that I figured I could retrofit onto my base. While I was looking for the item at Lowes, I asked a representative of one of the lighting companies (who was restocking) about the intermediate bases and he said it was all part of the 2007 Energy Bill. Huh? How can using a base that doesn’t support CFLs be part of an energy bill? I googled around and it appears this was a loophole to get around the Bill. The bill required ceiling fan manufacturers to ship with CFLs, UNLESS they used candelabra or intermediate base bulbs.
Bastards.
Here is the conversion that I did tonight in about 15 minutes.
DISCLAIMER: Please do no do this unless you are experienced with electrical wiring. Follow these steps at your own risk. There may be typos so use common sense if you do this.
1) Unscrew the existing sockets and cut the wires. Keep track of the original wiring. Save the screws.
2) Remove the mount from the Lowes socket and attach it to the base with the screw from the intermediate base. Twist and bend to get it as close to center.
3) You’ll need to strip the existing wires that were not part of the intermediate bases.
4) Combine your whites and blacks and attach with a twist on electrical wire connector.
5) Reinstall
Since these sockets are bigger I needed to bend the socket a little before the light covers fit but overall the fixture looks great.
Pictures. yeah close ups are out of focus but hopefully helpful. 
This is the bottom of the intermediate bulb base. poor focus. This is where you will find the screw to remove it.
Here is how the medium base (lleft) compares to the intermediate base (right).
The new base had 2 screws. I removed them and used the screw from the intermediate base since I knew it fit the fixture.
Old Wiring.
New Wiring
And now I have CFL joy.
28 Comments Add your own
1. Howie | January 7th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Cool. Hope you didn’t forget your electrical tape around the wirenuts…
2. Tony Primerano | January 7th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I used to do that but it seems pretty pointless so I stopped. Anyone following this please follow your local code.
3. Alan K | January 8th, 2008 at 6:46 am
All of my ceiling fans have dimming lights. Have you found any decent dimming CFLs?
4. Jeff | January 12th, 2008 at 11:34 am
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I have 2 ceiling fans that came with the intermediate bases. I found the replacement bases at Lowe’s for $1.97 each. I’ve changed out 1 ceiling fan & I am in the process of working on the 2nd one. Our Hampton Bay light kit was a little different than yours. It had the quick connect globes instead of the screw type so I had to remove a few extra pieces to be able to use the regular base sockets. Now we can use the CFL bulbs! We already had 2 of the intermediate base bulbs “explode” - luckily no one was injured.
5. Tony Primerano | January 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Jeff, I had a bulb explode in the 1st week. I figured it was damaged in shipping but perhaps Hampton Bay is getting a good deal on defective bulbs. I had to use pliers to get the old bulb out as all the glass was on the floor.
Alan, It doesn’t sound like dimmers and CFLs play nice. It might work with LED bulbs. At the moment they are too expensive.
6. Howie | January 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I’ve seen some “dimmable” CFLs in the stores. Generally, however, people claim they don’t work well for the full dimming range. Basically you get nothing until 30-50%… Then it scales properly upwards. I want dimmable CFLs for my ceiling floods, but… Not yet.
7. JS | January 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
It is the loophole of 2005 Energy Bill, the one which gave tons of money to oil companies. 2007 Energy Bill is the one that is going to effectively ban incandescent lamps in the next 10 years.
8. Dennis | January 30th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Wow………just bought a fan……..yep……..intermediate…….
so glad I saw your article. Going to Lowes tomorrow!!! Thanks!!!
9. Ron Gallo | January 31st, 2008 at 10:30 am
Just had to tell you that I went down to Lowe’s to get the part, and it was right in the fan parts section, and only $1.97. Went home installed the fours parts, in super fast speed, and worked 100%. I might note that I just retired from the Electrical dept at the local Home Depot, and I let my buddy know about this crappy deal they are selling, and how to fix it…
Thanks again
10. Mike Boyer | February 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 pm
There is an easier way. Purchase some intermediate to candelabra adapters then buy the candelabra cfl’s. No electrical experiance needed.
11. Tony Primerano | February 4th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Can someone send me a picture of what a lamp looks like with the candelabra adapter? Does it make the bulbs stick out too far? That is a simpler implementation but more expensive. I can get 16W CFLs for $1 but the Candelabra CFLs are rare and run about $4. Still better than running an incandescent, and for people who don’t want to mess with electrical wiring its probably the way to go.
12. Leslie | February 7th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I’m so glad to see this info. I went shopping last night at Home Depot and was told by the salesperson, “I think they changed the sockets because people were overloading them by putting in higher wattage lamps.This way you can only put a 40 or a 60 watt lamp in there.” My first reaction was, “Why would they create a new socket that you can’t use a CFL in? I will be stoppin at Lowe’s to purchase some standard sockets asap. Thanks.
13. Ann Marie | February 8th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
These comments are really helpful. I just purchased a fan from Home Depot and the lighting has intermediate sockets. After reading your comments, I went to Lowes to buy some standard sockets to replace the intermediate ones . The lady said that over the next few years, they will STOP making the energy efficient standard sized bulbs. I did however find a light kit that takes candelabra candles. I guess I will end up replacing it soon.
I would like to know if there are and where adapters can be found for: intermediate to candelabra, or intermediate to standard for the light bulbs. Please if anyone knows anything on where to find them, I would appreciate it.
14. Tony Primerano | February 10th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
If you want to use a screw in converter I think intermediate to candelabra is the way to go because the bulbs won’t stick out too far.
I’m not sure if lowes or home depot carry these adapters but there are plenty of places selling them online.
images of intermediate to candelabra
15. Jason K | February 11th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Awesome website! Thanks so much for the idea! I have two fans in my family room that i installed last summer from the Home Depot. They both have the E17 base for the sockets. So now I have a total of 8 sockets to replace, but the savings with cfl’s will more than make up for the work involved.
16. Jane Talkington | February 15th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Pigtails hanging out of ceiling fans look ridiculous. I realize our nation will save $18 billion a year when we are all mandated to use these inadequate lighting methods. We could have saved an additional $172 BILLION by not waging war in Iraq. Penny wise and pound foolish!
17. Tony Primerano | February 16th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Jane, personally, I don’t mind the look of CFLs, I’m more concerned about the mercury they contain. In a few years LED lights will be cheap an plentiful. At the moment they are ugly too but I’m sure someone will remedy that as the price drops.
18. SK | February 17th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Fantastic set of comments. I wish I had researched before. I may just do the easier method of going intermediate to candelabra and candelabra to medium. But that will mean a couple of adapter before the CFL is screwed on. Might be a bit ungainly.
19. EMD | February 21st, 2008 at 1:41 am
Well, I was staying in the 60 Watt recommended range for my older ceiling fans, but I guess I was being an energy hog compared the those using the CFLs, as I was using the GE Edison Hallogen bulbs. I have trouble seeing & the extra white light helps, not to mention the positive effects on my mood as well. So my question is, by replacing the sockets with the standard base ones, is the wiring being used by the ceiling fan companies for these light kits capable of safely handling the extra load? Messing with electrical things makes me a bit nervous.
20. EMD | February 21st, 2008 at 1:53 am
And second question…concerning those exploding intermediate bulbs… I had pretty much decided before ordering these new fans that I would just have to get use to using the new bulbs. But I’m really not liking what i’m hearing about them. How can I avoid getting any of those exploding bulbs? How do I make sure I’m getting quality bulbs, i guess is the question or is this even possible? Again, messing with electricity makes me nervous & I also have a little puppy I don’t want walking through slivers of glass either. I really can use all the advice out there in cyberspace. I’ve been racking my brain for a month over all this bulb size changes in trying to order a couple of new fans.
21. Tony Primerano | February 21st, 2008 at 2:03 pm
EMD, the fan wiring is built to handle 60 watt bulbs and CFLs use fewer amps so there shouldn’t be an issue.
For someone who doesn’t want to mess with electricity I would look into getting intermediate to candelabra socket reducers (these just screw in and cost about $2. Then you can buy candelabra CFLs. This costs a lot more but doesn’t involve messing with electrical wires.
Maybe someone will start making intermediate base CFLs soon. The fan manufacturers are creating demand for them.
22. Ron Gallo | February 25th, 2008 at 11:00 am
The only problem is that if you want over 60watts with a CFL light you can not do this with a candelabra bulb. I have not seen one that is over 60waats. When I changed my socket to meduim base I then went to a 100 watt CFL, and boy does it work… No mater what you think, changing the socket is the best way to go, and so easy. Bye
Ron from Santa Rosa, CA
23. Scott | March 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I was at The Home Depot the other day and in the fan section I found an intermediate CFL. It was only 40 watts but now I don’t have to us the adapters anymore. And by the way, Home Depot has the Medium base sockets for fans to replace the intermediate sockets for only 3 bucks
24. Tony Primerano | March 17th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Looks like Lowes stopped stocking the socket I was linking to above. It was < $2. They might still have them.
Scott, how much were the intermediate CFLs at Home Depot?
40 watts is really high for a CFL. Was that the equivalent light output of a 40 watt bulb I hope. Hopefully its only drawing 13 watts. Let me know if you have a link to it.
25. Scott | March 17th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
The price at Home Depot is $6.97 for one. It was expensive but I think worth it. The bulb is equivalent to a 40 watt but only draws 9 watts. I can’t find a link to the bulb but I know the store by me has them by the fans and the one by my parents is in the CFL section in the bulb aisle.
26. Geo | April 26th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I appreciated the article. I was able to change over my E17 to E26 bases as illustrated. My coast t Lowe’s was $2.96 for each base. I would suggest that the wire you use for the change over is rated at the same level as the original wiring. Otherwise you may be responsible for over loaded wiring causing a problem in the future.
27. Rich | August 25th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Finally an answer. I have been on the net for several hours looking for intermediate base CFL and then looking for adapters. I thought the sockets were pressed in, but finally I found the screw. You were right, approximately 15 minutes from start to finish. Geez I am glad my father taught me respect for electricity instead of fear. The adapters I found for Medium to intermediate base were 8.00 each. This was a much easier and cheaper fix. Thanks
28. Allen | November 23rd, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I cannot belive I found this Blog!
Just as I was getting ready to throw out 3 perfectly good Hampton Bay celing light/fans I find the solution. Thanks a pile for the info.
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