When it comes to safety in your outdoor space, one of the best items you can add is outdoor step lighting to help people find their way up and down stairs in the dark. Limiting the potential for falls after the sun goes down can you from falls as well as potential legal complaints for not providing a safe means of negotiating stair steps in the dark.

Units are available in a variety of colors and designs with many capable of being recessed into the stair risers or mounted on side walls to provide the light where it is needed the most. In the dark, outdoor step lighting can provide that extra bit of protection needed to prevent falls. With bulb strength ranging from 12 to 25 watts the light is adequate to mark your way on the steps but not bright enough to be an annoying distraction to activities going on around the home.

Especially useful in out-of-the-way places around the house such as back yard patios and pool decks, outdoor step lighting can also be used on front walkways where stairs may lead to a porch or an upper level of steps. Neighbors may not appreciate the brilliance of some outdoor lighting but the subdued nature of most outdoor step lighting units will not usually be accompanied by complaints of bright lights.

Treading Safely With Lighted Treads

Metal housings designed for being recessed into wood or brick steps can be nearly invisible during the day, while other designs such as short steel posts are ever-present and provide the light needed to negotiate stairs at night. Using a simple switch to turn your outdoor step lighting on and off is about the easiest installation but clicking them on with a motion sensor or an electric eye can help keep your power costs under control.

For difficult installations, or in areas where the location is too remote that running electric power lines is impractical, solar powered outdoor step lighting can be used. They charge their internal batteries during the day and operate on battery at night, usually with enough power to get through the night. However, installation has to be made to insure the solar cells are in the sun all day in order for a sufficient charge in the batteries is realized.

Path lighting can also be used as outdoor step lighting as their height of between 12 and 24 inches from the ground place the light at a good height to illuminate the steps while being an overpowering source of distraction.

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