Remove the Old Fixture

• Turn off the power to the light at the fuse box. It's not enough to hit the wall switch; someone might bump into it and accidentally turn it on. Remove the old light fixture by taking out the screws that hold it to the electrical box and disconnecting the wires. Pull the wires down from the box and spread them out so you can access them later. Pull on the box and make sure it's secured to a ceiling joist.
  
  

Hang the New Fixture

• Modern hanging lights come with installation kits that are designed to connect to your ceiling electrical box. The kit should include a strong metal strip that screws to the mounting holes on the rim of the box, giving you a place to hang your light. A ceiling canopy will cover it up. Hold up the new light fixture to the box and lower it on its support cord or chain to determine how low you want it to hang. If it's a cord, tighten the nut in the canopy that adjusts its height, rolling up the excess cord into the ceiling canopy. If it's a chain, use heavy wire cutters to trim it at the height you want.
  
  

Wire It

• Once you have the light hanging where you want it, wire the light. Generally, you'll just connect white and black wires from the ceiling to white and black wires from the light, using wire nuts to connect them and sealing each nut with electrician's tape. Connect the bare grounding wires from the light and ceiling to the green grounding screw on the mounting bracket. Attach the canopy as instructed--it will usually screw into a threaded post in the middle of the mounting bracket--and turn on the power.