Deck, Step & Path Lighting

Exterior circulation lighting has a safety job: show the edge of a step or the line of a path to someone whose eyes are adapted to darkness. That takes remarkably little light, and far less than most schemes install — the risk is not too dim, it is a bright source that destroys night adaptation and leaves everything beyond it darker.

Under the nosing or into the riser is where a step light belongs, aimed down across the tread. Anything mounted where it faces a descending user creates the glare that hides the hazard it was meant to reveal.

Decks and steps are the wettest position in most exterior schemes. Water runs down a stair by design and stands on a deck by accident, so this is IP67 territory rather than IP65, with a driver listed for a wet location.