Step lights, which brighten steps, walkways, and corridors in both indoor and outdoor settings, are both elegant and practical. Step lights are generally stunning, but because there are so many different types of step lights, we thought we’d help explain your options so you can make an informed selection for your house, garden, or other location.
LED Step Lighting Varieties
A step light is a tiny device that is used to illuminate a tread or to bathe a floor with light. The smallest variety gives a narrow enough illumination for a single step or tread and looks nice in groups. There are broader types of step lights that illuminate the floor more generally and may be used well on landings for a helpful nighttime low light level.
There are several interior and exterior step lights that can achieve this, and wherever they are put, they can only improve the appearance of a room.
Indoors
Step lighting for steps, landings, and corridors may look fantastic.
Single Point of Entry
A single point source of light is a light fixture that emits light from a single point. This step light features a single LED light source that emits light down or across the floor or steps in a narrow beam. This is great for repeating similar fittings throughout a stairwell or corridor to introduce the highs and lows of light, the brightness and darks that the eye is always drawn to. They are also quite effective for denoting the actual change of levels, which is why they are commonly used along hallways and flights of stairs.
Step Lights with Lines
LED strips buried behind stair nosings or aluminum extrusions coated by a frosted diffuser provide consistent light supply to your designated length, often throughout the width of the whole step.
Outdoors
Exterior step lighting is a must-have for any illuminated outside location, and it does not have to be costly to install. They can be single point or linear sources, like we use indoors, but they must be shielded against moisture penetration. The power source for these lights may be split between renewable energy and grid electricity.
Step Lights Made of Solar
The renewable solar charge gathered by a tiny PV Cell on top of a surface mounted step lamp is sufficient to illuminate your outdoor stairs for an entire evening without the need for power and hence no external connection.
Electric Step Lights with Low Voltage
A cabled system gives a professional design through a separate fitting for maximum control of light, switching, and dimming. Energy-efficient LED step lights often require a power source (driver) to produce a steady current, requiring careful design and installation.
Benefits of Using Step Lighting
The development of LED into a viable and bright light source has resulted in lights being fitted into the smallest of fixtures to enlighten previously inappropriate areas of the home. They go above and beyond merely supplying light by introducing a clever rhythm of illumination that constantly looks fantastic. LED has made step lighting a more affordable reality.
Exterior lighting always looks fantastic at night when set against a dark backdrop, and contemporary step lighting is now a visual need for both residential and commercial settings both inside and out. Step lights improve safety by designating passageways while also adding flair and refinement to walks, patio areas, and around the pool.
How to Choose the Best Step Lighting?
Source of Light
There are numerous light sources to consider when it comes to step lights. LED step lights have grown in popularity. This is primarily due to the fact that LED step lights consume very little power to produce just the right amount of light for stairs and corridors at night. They do not produce as much heat as other sources, have appealing and varied looks, and may be used indoors or outdoors.
While LED is a popular option, incandescent, halogen, xenon, and even fluorescent step lights are also available. Here’s an infographic to help you practice identifying and selecting light bulbs.
Use the infographic while selecting your step lights to discover how LED compares to other common light sources. Knowing which light source you like can help you make a decision.
Installation Type
The type of step lights you buy will be determined by the type of installation you wish to do. If you merely want to retrofit a step light into a hallway power socket, for example, your options will be restricted to wall-mounted step lights. If you want recessed step lights where there were none previously, there are lots of lights to choose from, both indoors and outdoors. If you want outdoor step lights with no installation work, there are battery-powered and solar solutions that are simple to set up and require no wiring. You may also experiment with LED tape or rope (or a tape-rope hybrid!).The main thing is to figure out what kinds of installations you can do in your area. This will also simplify your decision-making process.
Dimensions and Form
Step lights are available in a variety of designs and sizes! Many step lights and power outlet cover plates are designed to fit neatly in a typical power outlet gang box. Retrofit step lights frequently come with interchangeable face plates that allow the user to place them vertically or horizontally depending on the gang box. The brick-sized step light is another popular form. These are commonly used outside but may also be used indoors. Other fascinating solutions include tiny, circular step lights, LED tape or rope (frequently used to run under railings), and staked-in path lights.You may even use solar LED party lights to illuminate outdoor stairs if you want to be creative! Now that you’re familiar with the various forms and sizes, consider what could work best for you.
Indoors or Outside
The form and size of your step lights will almost certainly be determined by whether you intend to illuminate stairs indoors or outside. Outdoor lighting applications provide some fascinating opportunities, such as employing remote-controlled path lights to illuminate steps or laying LED tape down the bottom of railings. LED tape, which comes in a number of colors, is especially useful for illuminating outdoor steps. We’ve already suggested flashing LED party lights. The good thing is that many attractive step lights are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Don’t limit your search to fixtures that appear to be suitable just for indoor usage.
Lenses or Louvers
When looking for indoor step lights, you should be prepared to choose between louvers and lenses to spread the light and conceal the light source. Choosing between these two is primarily an aesthetic choice based on the overall style of the place you are upgrading. Some folks prefer how lenses seem when the light is turned off. Some folks also prefer the way louvers cast unfiltered light. You should do some study on step lights with lenses and louvers before going shopping because this is a decision you may have to make. The good news is that, as long as the lenses and louvers match, you can’t go wrong with high-quality step lights!
Where to Place Step Lights Around the House
Step lights are the answer for those regions where conventional illumination simply cannot reach.
Stairs
Without projecting surface mounted wall lights, illuminating staircases has always been tricky; step lights are the ideal answer. They look nice and provide a layer of security.
Corridors and passageways
Step lights are a modest, compact form of lighting that skims light across the floor, leading the eye onwards as it notices the recurrence of contrasts between lighted and dark areas.
Landings
Used in the same way as a hallway, but with the extra benefit of being a lighting circuit that may occasionally be kept on as a night light for small children or anybody who could benefit from traveling through the space at night.
Toe Kick Plates for the Kitchen
The kitchen floor is challenging to illuminate without flooding the entire space. The step lamp fixture provides for defined short throws of light across the floor, adding interest and a soothing layer of illumination that can often be the sole source of light left on in the late evening.