Stair way Lighting or should I Practice falling down before getting Drunk?

[i4ni]

I missed the bottom step going down the stairs in the dark a couple of weeks ago and crashed and burned twisting my ankle a little. Back when I was drinking I used to tell people I'd better practice falling down a few times before I got too drunk lol.
Anyway, does anyone have a suggestion for indoor stair lights that would be fairly easy to retrofit in a finished stair way. I'm thinking LED's would be much easier in that respect. Suggestions?


EDIT; I should mention I would prefer plug and play low voltage Leds for simple connectivity also in terms of easy replacement.

 

[Ton ton]

I would go with LED lights.

 

[mm08822]

Small profile led lights on the under side of the tread.

Is there access behind the stairway?

 

[wssix99]

I use these night light outlets in dark corners and they work great for many reasons:

1) My wife can't turn it off when I need the light the most. (Or when I'm taking a ****.)
2) Guests don't notice them. Youngsters won't accuse you of being 'old.'
3) You still get the full functionality of the outlets, plus the nightlight.
4) No need for any additional fixtures or plug-in night lights.
5) The night light turns on automatically at dusk and goes off during the daylight

 

[i4ni]

Small profile led lights on the under side of the tread.

Is there access behind the stairway?

yes

 

[billconner]

Adding a contrasting stripe to nosings will help a lot, and reduce lighting required.

 

[Shiftless]

Is this indoors or outdoors?
I assume it’s outdoors because stairs are supposed to be built with lighting that is switched at the top and bottom of the run. Same with hallways.

 

[i4ni]

Is this indoors or outdoors?
I assume it’s outdoors because stairs are supposed to be built with lighting that is switched at the top and bottom of the run. Same with hallways.

Indoors. It has a switch at top and bottom but it's harder to sneak in and out with the lights on.

 

[i4ni]

Adding a contrasting stripe to nosings will help a lot, and reduce lighting required.

Don't think the wife would approve of defacing her carpet.

 

[Shiftless]

Ah ha!
The truth is out!

When I’m sneaking around I use the tiny flashlight I always carry in my pocket on my key ring. Single AAA Fenix.

 

[billconner]

Don't think the wife would approve of defacing her carpet.

Oops! Thought this was exterior.

Any chance of led tape under handrail? Probably too much for your needs.

A couple of led puck lights over it, very low output or on a dimmer.

 

[Shiftless]

Any chance of led tape under handrail?

That’s a great idea!
You could control them with a motion detector switch.

 

[dcg9381]

This is exactly what I have, the rail is simple "finished" 2x6 with an LED strip under, controlled by Alexa.
Our stairs have raised strips at the leading edge.. It's like braille for my feet.

 

[mrVanagon]

For my basement stairs I put a 12V deck light at the top of the stairs and power it with a doorbell transformer. I replaced the switch at the top of the stairs with a 3-way switch so that one position turns on the basement lights and the other position turns on the transformer. Been working for years.

 

[cybrdyke]

You can use tiny step lights on the wall. Usually these are spaced every other step. Think movie theater.
You can underlight the nosing of each step. You can underlight the railing. You can use tape light on the ceiling joint where it meets the wall. Most folks just have a small ceiling light at the top and bottom.
There's lots of ways to skin a cat.
CD

 

[billconner]

I think these stairs are carpeted? Same carpet on treads and risers? That makes it hard to illuminate the stairs to make nosings clear. I would have to see it to know.

You might try this for fun. Points out most important issues.

One-minute Stairway Flight Inspection

 

[kbuhagiar]

You can use tiny step lights on the wall. Usually these are spaced every other step. Think movie theater.
You can underlight the nosing of each step. You can underlight the railing. You can use tape light on the ceiling joint where it meets the wall. Most folks just have a small ceiling light at the top and bottom.
There's lots of ways to skin a cat.
CD

Or you could just use the light that's already there...

 

[Mezz2006]

We have outlet covers with built in nightlights. They work great, no outlet blockage and auto on/off with built in sensor. We have these SnapPower brand ones:SnapPower Outlet cover. Supposedly SnapPower is the original maker of these. Looks like they have them for switch covers now too.

 

[dave*99]

Whatever you choose, be sure to have even lighting on all the treads. I saw an outdoor staircase off a deck. It was treacherous in the dark. There are 10 solid risers on the staircase. They installed LED lights on the center of 3 of those risers. Now it's 1000X worse. Mix well lit treads with completely dark treads and you can't see anything. When you stand at the top of the staircase, you see 3 treads and a whole bunch of steep black gaps. Scary AF.

 

[fitter30]

Alexa operated light then when walk down a stair case can yell at alexa turn the f in light on.

 

[nadogail]

Avoid getting drunk, that has worked for me since 1976, prior to that I was a practicing Alcoholic.