Deck Stair Lighting: the Most Essential and Effective Solutions
Out of every component in your deck lighting design, there is no part that’s more important than the stair lighting. Without proper illumination, deck stairs can be hazardous — not the best way to welcome friends to your outdoor space. The old-school solution was to flood the stairs with light, which brought its own set of problems like strong shadows and annoying glare.
Today, there are some ingenious landscape lighting options that make the stairs an immediate focal point and enhance safety. In this article, we’ll go over the best deck stair lighting ideas and introduce some of our favorite products.
How Do You Illuminate Stairs on a Deck?
There are two effective ways to illuminate stairs on a deck: lights that are embedded into the risers, or side lights that illuminate each tread from the side.
Embedded lights are fixtures recessed directly into the riser (the vertical surface between each stair). Due to the incredibly short distance between the light source and the surface it illuminates, the lights are highly effective and efficient. Nothing will cast a shadow on the step. Some designs will have one or two rows of embedded lights marching their way up the entire length of the staircase. Others may feature a staggered approach where one riser has (for example) two embedded lights, while the next has one in the center followed by another with two, and so forth. The various designs depend on the intensity of the fixtures, the length of the staircase, and how much ambient light is present.
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More Reading? Check out the Ultimate Guide to Deck Lighting here ->>>
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Side lights are fixtures that are attached to structures at the side of your deck stairs, such as opposing posts or railing posts on one side and the home on the other side of the steps. These lights are aimed across each step from both sides. For design consistency, side lights can also be used anywhere else on the deck if your deck features a railing. They can also be installed on built-in benches or other features.
In both situations, the lights are positioned low so that the light energy goes where it’s most needed: the stair tread. Simply removing the chance of shadows or glare makes deck stair lights the safest way to make entering and exiting your deck safe.
What About Deck String Lights?
If you love the look of string lights you’re probably wondering if they’re suitable for deck stairs. The answer is a very cautious maybe. Since they illuminate the space from above, there’s always the chance of shadows which could prove dangerous. String lights are better suited to the deck itself, although you could hang two sets of string lights a foot or so off the ground to light up the stairs. Generally, lighting for deck posts or embedded lighting is a safer bet.
How Bright Should Outdoor Stair Lights Be?
With such a high importance on stair lights, you’d think they should be as bright as possible. While this is certainly better than too dim, you shouldn’t go all out on the brightness of your stair lights.
Each stair step should have 12-130 lumens depending on its place in the outdoor environment.
If the stairs or steps are directly adjacent to another illuminated space, you’ll need a number on the higher end of that scale so the lights can effectively compete with the brighter spaces surrounding them. If the stairs are in a darker area, you won’t need much more than the 12 lumen minimum for each stair light. Any more than that could make your deck stairs too bright in comparison with walkways or the deck itself (a weird jarring feeling).
The end result will also depend on how many fixtures are installed per step.
Our Deck Stair Lighting Product Recommendations
Before we get to product recommendations, what about solar deck stair lights? We currently don’t recommend them. Yes, they are free to operate, but several cloudy days in a row, or snow cover, will basically render them useless (even if they do work, the light will be much dimmer than hardwired lights. We recommend solar lights as accent lights, but until the technology is such that their power is equivalent to hardwired lights, we recommend more powerful and reliable hardwired solutions for key safety areas like deck stairs.
The LED Step Lights from LeonLite are exactly what your steps need for keeping your deck safe and beautiful. LeonLite has established themselves as a major leader in landscape lighting with a catalog of excellent products available in indoor residential and commercial applications as well.
The LeonLite LED Step Lights are a big part of a gorgeous and effective outdoor living space, especially for stairs and steps attached to your deck. Unlike the other products we’ve mentioned in this article, these step lights are hardwired. This means that they have greater reliability when it comes to bad weather and snowfall. They bring a warm white color temperature that makes your outdoor living space feel safe and secure without being distracting. The metal frame of these lights is available in two separate colors and can be embedded in any type of masonry or wood around your outdoor living space.
“These lights are truly a high quality product…” - Amazon contributor HIko
Another outstanding product by LeonLite, the 12-Pack Low Voltage LED Deck Lights offer a round silhouette that is mounted to stair railings or the side of your home. They can also be used anywhere on the deck. They come in a 12-pack for convenience and feature a choice of five finishes to suit your decor. With a bright 170 lumens output and a 3000K warm white light, these lights could be the “one” light you choose for your walkway, deck stairs, and deck.
“LEONLITE 12-Pack Low Voltage LED Deck Lights - Great Value!” - Amazon contributor bobweb
The GKOLED Stair Riser Light is a highly rated product from GKOLED. GKOLED specializes in high quality commercial and residential LED lighting in classic styles. This stair riser light is a slender 7.36” x 1.7” strip shaped light that features a 2700K light temperature, a design that illuminates every tread without any glare, and its low profile is ideal for steps with low risers. The durable die-cast aluminum housing features a powder coated finish for durability.
“Light Up Your Stairs” - Amazon contributor Paul Kiczek
Hykolity knocks it out of the park again with the Low Voltage LED Deck Step Light. Hykolity is a California-based manufacturer focused on innovative outdoor LED lighting products. The longer 10” slender LED stair riser fixture is ideal for wider deck stairs. Featuring a beautiful soft diffused light pattern, this 122 lumen light features a 3000K warm white light that will keep your deck stairs easily visible even next to a brightly lit deck. These sleek aluminum-body lights are available in a 6-pack. The lights are protected by a 10-year warranty.