Installing stairway lighting has never been more simple. In this easy-to-follow guide, you'll learn how to install beautiful stairway lighting with LED strip lights.

We'll guide you every step of the way.

What is Stairway Lighting?

Stairway lighting is a tasteful lighting technique that looks beautiful and serves a functional purpose. The installed lights illuminate the stairs, making an attractive glow while also increasing the visibility of your walkway in a charming manner.

Stairway Lighting with LED Strip Lights

If you’re thinking about installing stairway lighting in your home or business, you’ve come to the right place. Whether this is your first time or you need a refresher, we’ll carefully take you through every step of the process to make it as effortless as possible.

From learning how to choose the best LED strip light for staircase lighting to picking out power supplies, we’ve created an easy-to-follow guide on how to install LED stair lighting.

If you already know which strip type, color temperature, and voltage option you want, you can skip down to step two. If you still need help deciding, continue down below to step one.

5 Simple Steps on Installing LED Stairway Lighting

1. Choosing the Best LED Strip Light for Stairway Lighting
    A. Where to Install (Placement)
    B. Choosing Brightness for Stairway Lighting
    C. Choosing Color Temperature for Stairway Lighting
    D. Best Voltage Option for Stairway Lighting
    E. Best LED Strip Lights for Stairway Lighting
2. Choosing Your Control System
3. Choosing Your Power Supply
4. Solderless Connectors and Wires
5. Mounting and Extrusions

Design Support (Free project design included)

1. Choosing the Best LED Strip Light

First, you need to choose the best LED strip light for your particular project. We’ve narrowed your options to the top three choices for staircase lighting projects that you’ll see down below. But before you can make that decision, here are some questions to consider when choosing the best LED strip light for stairway lighting:

• What is the purpose of the lights - will it be the main source of lighting or do you want to create a particular atmosphere?
• What color temperature do you prefer?
• Where will you install? Do you want to light individual treads or light up the railing?
• Are you lighting hardwood stairs or carpeted stairs?
• Do you want a static white output or a color changing or Dynamic Tunable White output?
• How do you want to control your lights?
• Are you looking for something temporary or prefer a long-lasting permanent fixture?

To help you narrow down the best options, we’ve created a short checklist to help you on the first steps on figuring out LED stairway lighting. If you already know which strip you need for your project, skip ahead to step two to choose your control system.

A. Where to Install (Placement)

There are various ways to install stair lighting with LED strips, depending on what type of stairs you have and where you want to place the lights. First, you need to measure the length of the installation area. If you want very specific placement, you may want a strip light that has frequent cut marks to match your desired length.

Now, you have the option of placing the lights directly under the tread with the LEDs downlighting, which will provide more light. Or you can mount the lights on the frame of the tread with the LEDs facing toward the riser of the stair. This will depend on the type of stairway you have and your preference.

If you have a handrail, you can install below the rail so the light can give an overall illumination onto the whole stairway. This will also give the handrail a pleasant glow. If your staircase has a groove or lip alongside the wall, you can place the lights in there. Look below to see which type suits your project.

A. How to Choose the Appropriate Brightness Levels

What level of brightness are you seeking? Brightness is measured in lumens, so the higher the lumen output, the brighter the light. LED cove lighting can be broken up into three main types of lighting based on the goal you want to achieve. Lumen needs may vary from project to project depending on the size of the coves and the height from the floor to the cove. However, below is a general guide.

1. 1. Principle lighting will be the primary source of light and will call for brighter, higher-output strips.
      The lumen output you are looking for should be between 400 - 1,000 lumen/ft.
      
      
   2. Accent lighting is for aesthetic purposes that draws attention to a particular area, such as highlighting ceiling decor.
      The lumen output you are looking for should be between 200 - 500 lumen/ft.
      
      
   3. Mood lighting or mood lighting provides a soft, overall illumination that blankets the space.
      The lumen output you are looking for should be between 100 - 300 lumen/ft.
      

2. Choosing Your Control System

All of our strip lights are fully dimmable. This means you can easily adjust brightness levels to perfect LED cove lighting details, allowing you to switch between bright principle lighting to warm ambient lighting.

To experience the full potential of our LED strip lights, dimmers are highly recommended in cove lighting. Dimmers will also help you save energy by preventing the lights from being on 100% brightness at all times.

If you use the Outline, Accent or Architectural Series, you can choose from these control systems:

Lutron® Wall Dimmers - Convenient wall dimmers to control brightness levels with wireless features

LED Smartphone Controller - Control brightness levels via Bluetooth from your smartphone

Multi-Zone Remote & Receiver Combo - Advanced RF technology lets you program favorite settings on your controller

Touch Series Dimmer - Using radio frequency, you can adjust your lights using a simple dimming wheel

Wireless Wall/Desktop Dimmer and Receiver - Wireless wall-mounted dimmer that’s as easy to use as it is beautiful

If you want the Architectural Dynamic Tunable White Series, you can choose from these control systems

LED Smartphone Controller - Control brightness and color temperatures via Bluetooth from your smartphone

Wireless Wall/Desktop Dimmer and Receiver - Wireless wall-mounted dimmer that’s as easy to use as it is beautiful

Touch RF Remote Controller - Choose your favorite color temperature with this remote using radio frequency

3. Choosing Your Power Supply

A. Choosing the appropriate style of power supply.

The type of LED power supply you need for your project depends on if and how you want to control your lights with a dimming system in your setup. The next step is to choose from our list of compatible power supplies and drivers to turn on your lights.

Quick guideline: If you’re using a Lutron® dimmer or any other AC wall dimmers, you need a Zurik® dimmable driver. You cannot use the Zurik driver with RGB or Dynamic Tunable White systems.

B. Calculating the size of the power supply you need

To calculate the size of the power supply for your LED strip light, you need to calculate the total watts used in your strip. Each strip consumed a different amount of watts per ft (W/ft). Take the w/ft and multiply it by the number of total feet you are hooking up to the power supply. Then, take that number and add an additional 20% to prevent overloading the power supply. It is better to under-load the power supply because it will help increase the lifespan by keeping it cooler.

Check out this in-depth guide to choosing the correct power supply or refer to our power supply calculator chart for a detailed look on which power supply you need.