If the house has two or more floors, then you cannot do without installing stairs in such a house. In most cases, stairs are installed in places where there is no natural light. In order to achieve maximum illumination, many install additional lighting for the stairs.
12 pictures Lighting methods
The method of lighting stairs is selected based on their type, because now there are many different stair designs. Interfloor transitions are distinguished by the type of construction, as well as by the material of their manufacture. First, we will determine what stairs can be by type of material. They are:
- stone;
- wooden;
- metal;
- plastic;
- glass.
The main and most popular materials are stone and wood. Wood has long been used in Russia for the construction of stairs outside and inside. Stone is a more European material. Today, the stone itself is not used as often.
Most often it is used for cladding and decorating brick and concrete stairs. The situation with wood has not changed, it is still used everywhere, and stairs are made entirely of wood, or used for facing steps from other materials.
If it is planned to provide a staircase built of wood with additional lighting, it must be remembered that wood belongs to the G4 high flammability group. To avoid a fire, the entire electrical network must be properly insulated. For additional safety, you should select luminaires whose lamps do not heat up, and also give preference to low-current systems.
Backlit wooden stairs should be treated with fire retardant solutions. They allow the equipment to withstand high temperatures, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of fires due to overheating.
Metal stairs are not very popular now. One of the reasons is their high weight, as well as the high cost of material and installation work. In addition, the metal structure is considered quite traumatic due to the fact that metal steps are slippery. As a rule, a frame is made of metal and additionally modified with steps of glass, wood or high-strength plastic.
Outdoor lamps, such as a sconce or a chandelier, look most harmonious on such a staircase. If the design is combined and, for example, has plastic elements, then you should also remember about their flammability.
When heated, plastic can not only melt, but also give off a toxic, pungent and dangerous odor. And metal, in turn, is a good electrical conductor, so the wiring should be additionally insulated.
There are several types of stairs.
- Marching. The march structures are of the simplest design. Therefore, if there is a place in the house, then they are most often given preference, installing in their private houses. These stairs are very convenient to use and allow you to install various types of lighting.
- Screw. They are usually installed in rooms with a small area to save space. The steps of the stairs are attached to the rack in a spiral manner. It is quite easy to install the lighting on such a staircase. Light fixtures can be mounted on the B-pillar as well as on the ceiling with a downward direction. This allows you to install the lighting even after installing the staircase itself, without damaging the finish and the structure of the staircase as a whole.
- Ladders on the bolts. Such a staircase seems "weightless". Its design looks like this: the steps are attached to the wall and on racks, called bolts, located between the steps. Such structures have no risers, which allows natural light to flow. And also this modern solution allows you to save as much space as possible. The steps can be made from any material, and the frame is usually metal.
There are several options for lighting. You can install lighting fixtures on the wall, under the steps, or built into them.
It happens that the staircase can be installed against the wall, which has a window, then in addition to electrical appliances in daylight, the staircase is well illuminated by natural light. Night lighting doesn't have to be very dynamic. It must be adjusted to certain norms.
Types of lighting devices
Backlighting is an important element of staircase decor, which brings both aesthetic beauty and safe movement in the dark. Often, there are not enough lamps in rooms and natural light to provide the structure with proper lighting. Then you need to install additional staircase lighting.
Lighting devices are of several types:
- sconce;
- LED Strip Light;
- spot illumination;
- a chandelier in the span;
- combined illumination.
Let's take a closer look at each type of device.
Spotlighting is provided by a variety of spotlights. It looks very impressive. There are several ways to do it.
- Illumination built into the steps. For the installation of lighting fixtures, holes are made in the steps and the wiring is removed. You can arrange the bulbs in different ways. You can install them one in each step or through one, you can install one lamp in the center or two at the edges. Heavy staircase construction visually becomes "lighter" due to the glow.
- Lamp. If you do not want to spoil the facing of the steps, it is possible to purchase spotlights. Usually they are placed on the side of the steps near the wall or under the railing pointwise. They are fixed either on a self-adhesive base or on bolts. In some models, you can adjust the direction of light thanks to the swivel head.
- Lanterns on the railing . Quite a spectacular lighting option. The lantern is mounted on balusters. Thanks to this installation, steps, railings and the entire staircase structure as a whole are illuminated. Therefore, for sufficient illumination of the stairs, sometimes one or two lamps are enough.
- Wall lamps. The luminaires cut into the wall pointwise along the entire length of the staircase. It looks very stylish and unusual.
The point lighting option is quite easy to implement: it is not difficult to install light bulbs, and the effect of such lighting allows you to organize the light according to the needs of a person and the characteristics of the staircase.
Wall sconces are an even simpler lighting option that does not require special intervention in the wall cladding. The luminaires are fixed to the wall and connected to the power supply. To ensure good illumination, it is enough to install several sconces, since they have a lot of power.
For example, a sconce can be installed in the following order: at the bottom and at the top of the stairs, one device at a time, in the case of a two-flight staircase, you can additionally install the sconce in the middle.
This type of backlight can be turned on mechanically or automatically by installing a motion sensor. Usually, one switch is installed at the top and bottom to turn on and off all the sconces at the same time.
In order to install the sconces after the repair is completed, you must ensure that there are wire outlets in advance. If you do not take this into account in advance, then you can lay the wiring along the wall or grind the recesses. As an alternative to this, you can install luminaires that work from external batteries.
Today the market offers many wall sconces of different designs, so you can choose the device in style to any staircase and the house in general.
An in-flight chandelier is the most effective and expensive way of lighting. The chandelier is ideal for multi-flight stairs. Typically, such structures are found in public places such as hotels, theaters and in historical places - palaces and large estates.
Outwardly, such a chandelier is distinguished by its massiveness and length. Its task is to fully illuminate the entire staircase as a whole. It is suspended from the ceiling of the upper floor and descends along all flights of stairs. Great for lighting spiral staircases.
LED strip is a flexible strip with a variety of energy saving fixtures. Such devices are distinguished by a variety of colors. They are fairly easy to install anywhere. They are attached, as a rule, due to their sticky side, if present, or they are set on glue. Such lamps do not heat up, and therefore they are completely safe.
Two power supplies are attached to the tape, one converts electrical energy for lighting, the other serves to connect to the mains. Moreover, it is energy efficient. The amount of electricity consumed in this case is 12 or 24 volts. The number of working hours is approximately 50 thousand.
To achieve greater illumination or to be able to select one or another illumination option, depending on the conditions, sometimes combined illumination is installed, combining, for example, point and wall illumination. Such a kit is an interactive novelty of our time.
Today, the most popular LED neon illumination built into the wall. Such a design with LEDs is connected to a special socket box, and its height is selected individually.
Tips for choosing
When choosing one or another type of backlighting, it is necessary to take into account some peculiarities.
- Profitability. It is important that power is used as economically as possible, because the backlight will have to be used frequently.
- Safety. It is necessary to ensure safe movement at any time of the day. Sometimes it makes sense to provide autonomous lighting in the event of a power outage. For example, install a lamp powered by a rechargeable battery or battery.
- Especially electric lighting plays an important role if there is no natural light next to the stairs, for example, windows.
- The lighting you choose should work well with the design of the room and the style of the staircase.
- The backlight should be calm, not annoying. It is recommended to exclude bright light blinding directly into the eyes of a person while moving up the stairs.
- When choosing a backlight, you should consider how you want to install it - yourself or with the help of specialists.
- Having understood and selected the type of lighting, you should prepare the required tools and components necessary for mounting the backlight.
Overhead square spots are most suitable for a hall in a country house. They look great along the stairs.
Installation steps
Step-by-step instructions for installing the backlight with your own hands on the second floor are given using the example of installing LED backlighting. Installation of this type of backlighting is quite simple and can be done by anyone, even those who have not previously encountered this.
As a rule, when purchasing equipment, an installation manual is attached to it, in which everything is simply and clearly described. The choice of tape depends on the design of your staircase. If the steps have a ledge, then the tape is attached under it with its sticky side.
If there are no protrusions, then the tape will have to be slightly modified to protect it from mechanical stress.
Before starting the installation, the tape must be cut according to the dimensions of the steps. The pieces are then attached to the desired sections of the ladder using the sticky side or glue. You can protect the tape from external mechanical influences using an aluminum profile. The place where it is planned to fix the tape must first be degreased.
Wiring is soldered to the cut strips or connectors are attached to connect the lighting fixtures to the controller. The use of connectors facilitates installation and reduces the amount of soldering. Next, you should carry out the wiring. To ensure safety, the wiring should be either closed with special boxes, or built into the wall, or hidden behind a plinth. At the end, you need to connect the device to the AC regulator and to the power supply.
It is not always convenient to turn on the light on the stairs yourself by pressing the switch, and if the backlight is on constantly, it will “hit your wallet” hard and be reflected in your electricity bill. To solve these problems, you can install an automatic staircase lighting that is triggered by a motion sensor. Thanks to the automatic machine, it is possible to achieve economical consumption of electricity, extend the life of lighting fixtures, and also provide convenient movement up stairs without additional effort.
Installing ceiling or other structures is a snap if you follow our recommendations.
For information on how to make LED staircase lighting with your own hands, see the next video.
Beautiful examples
Below are the main options for lighting for stairs.
- Ladder with LED lighting. In this example, lights are placed under each step throughout the entire staircase. You can choose any backlight color, and make the backlight automatic using a motion sensor. But it is also possible to place the LED strip along the edges of the steps on both sides or vertically under each step.
- Staircase with spot lighting . The backlight can be installed opposite each step or through a certain gap in the wall. Can be installed in the riser, one in the center or two bulbs on both sides. The switch is usually installed at the bottom and top of the stairs.
- As mentioned earlier, to achieve greater illumination, sometimes several lighting options are used on the same staircase - combined lighting. For example, you can install spotlights built into the steps and a wall sconce between the spans.
