Exterior Stair Lighting

Safety and Esthetics

• The safest light choice for exterior stairs is a traditional spotlight trained on the stairs; however, this might not be the most esthetically pleasing. Decorative lights may not provide the security of a brighter light or add to the ease of navigating the steps. Install two-way switches at the top and the bottom of stairways that stretch up the side of a building, such as stairs to an upper floor apartment. Adding a timer that switches the light on in the evening and off in the morning even if no one is home is a crime deterrent.

Outdoor Solar Lighting

• Solar lights that stick into the ground are economical and widely available. Adapt them for use on stairs by building a base for each light or putting them in flowerpots along the stairs' edges. A more elegant but more costly solution is solar step lights and solar railing lights. Solar lights need to be placed in a sunny location to be effective, so if the exterior stairs are in a shady location, choose another option. Solar lights fade as they lose their charge and also typically give off less light than electrical lights, so they are less of a crime deterrent.

Rope

• LED rope lighting offers myriad design options, is brighter and more energy efficient than incandescent lighting, and has a longer life than traditional lighting. LED lights are encased in clear plastic and come in a variety of colors. Wind the rope light around the banister or use it along the sides of the stairs on one side or both. Firmly attaching rope lighting just under the lip of the front of each step delineates the stairs.

Traditional

• Replace the incandescent bulb in a spotlight with an energy-efficient fluorescent bulb. Compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs, screw into the same base as an incandescent light and last longer. A standard incandescent bulb has a life of between 750 and 2,000 hours, while a CFL lasts from 10,000 to 20,000 hours. CFLs lose efficiency in cold temperatures, and the life is shortened if the light is turned on and off frequently. Sidelights, built into the walls opposite the banisters, provide even lighting of the treads. If they're not present, wiring must be installed and small housings for the lights must be built into the wall.