Stair Lighting for 21–28 Steps: A STEP‑09 Planning Guide

Your staircase has two flights and a landing. Each flight looks ordinary on its own, but together they need more than 20 step lights. Which number should you use when choosing the kit—and can a longer cable make a smaller system cover the whole staircase?

Start with the total number of planned illuminated steps, then check the complete route. The MALIIGAZA STEP-09 kit currently covers 5–28 indoor steps, making it a candidate for a 21–28-step project. Its main-line arrangement can simplify distribution, but a suitable step count does not automatically settle landings, sensor approaches or cable reach.

This guide works through those decisions before you order. It does not approve every two-flight staircase or suggest that extra cable increases a controller's capacity.

Architectural concept showing part of a multi-flight route—not a photograph claimed to contain exactly 24 or 28 steps, or an installation diagram.

Count the whole lighting job, not just one flight

Make a simple list of the steps you intend to illuminate. Keep numbering across the landing so that the second flight does not disappear from the order calculation.

For a hypothetical staircase with 12 planned step lights on the lower flight and 12 on the upper flight, the total is 24. Choosing a 12-step kit because each flight has 12 steps would not provide a complete 24-step system.

Record the landing separately. A flat landing is not automatically another tread-light position, but it may have a separate lighting requirement. If you want to add a strip at its edge or illuminate another architectural detail, ask how that light will be supplied and controlled and whether it changes the selected configuration. Do not assume an extra light can be added without affecting the plan.

For unusual shapes, describe each intended light rather than relying only on a building-plan stair count. A broad winding tread, a split-level transition and a landing edge can have different physical requirements. Confirm how those positions map to the exact kit before checkout.

A lighting-count example only. The landing's own lighting and the physical route still require separate decisions.

Capacity is the first filter—not the entire selection

Among MALIIGAZA's three main promoted stair-light models, the current listed limits differ: STEP-P5 supports up to 16 illuminated steps, STEP-07 up to 20, and STEP-09 up to 28.

That makes STEP-09 the relevant starting point among these three for a 24-step example. It does not mean the three models are the entire MALIIGAZA range, nor that STEP-09 is suitable beyond its stated limit.

Check control priorities at the same time. STEP-09 provides motion activation, daylight sensing and remote/controller adjustment; it does not support smartphone App control. If an App, a particular wall control or another behavior is essential, state that requirement before ordering. Do not choose a smaller-capacity model for a preferred control feature and assume extension cables will make up the missing steps.

The STEP-09, STEP-P5 and STEP-07 comparison explains their broader differences. Here, the immediate question is whether the chosen system covers every intended light position with the behavior your project needs.

A landing changes the route even when it adds no step lights

STEP-09 uses a main line with connection nodes near the step strips. The strips connect locally instead of each requiring a long individual lead all the way back to the controller.

On a two-flight staircase, the route must also cross or go around the landing. Measure that actual path, including changes of direction and accessible mounting space. The distance between the last light on one flight and the first on the next may be much larger than the distance between neighboring treads.

Treat this as a route problem, not a reason to increase the step count arbitrarily. A compatible main-line extension may bridge additional distance where the documented installation method allows it. It does not create another illuminated tread or add control capacity. For the detailed distinction between underside and side-wall routes and extensions, read the STEP-09 main-line installation guide.

Illustrative route context. The empty landing surface does not identify a hidden cable path or authorize drilling or concealed wiring.

Keep distance, lighting positions and controller capacity separate

There are three different purchasing questions:

• More distance between existing positions: assess the appropriate compatible extension and route.
• More planned step lights within the system limit: confirm the required strips, main-line nodes, selected configuration and power arrangement.
• More lights than the controller supports: obtain a different confirmed system design. Adding cable or nodes does not raise the rating.

For example, a 24-light project that becomes a 26-light project is not merely a request for a longer cable. The required light strips and node allocation change too, and the complete configuration needs checking. Conversely, an unchanged 24-light project with a longer landing may need extra route length without needing more illuminated steps.

Do not apply that arithmetic as an installation approval. A capacity limit is not a guarantee of arbitrary cable length, load or layout. If the project exceeds 28 planned step positions, do not connect extras to STEP-09 or assume that two controllers will synchronize. Ask for an appropriately documented alternative design.

Purchasing distinctions, not instructions for splicing, combining controllers or modifying a power supply.

Check how people enter the staircase

The STEP-09 kit lists two PIR sensors. Plan the normal approaches at the bottom and top, rather than assuming that a good-looking mounting position will detect everyone reliably.

A landing with a doorway or corridor creates another question: someone may join the staircase halfway along the route. Show that entrance on the project brief. The number of supported step lights does not establish support for additional PIR inputs or a particular middle-entry sequence. Have that behavior confirmed before committing to the kit.

Similarly, a staircase spanning more than one floor may need a different control brief from one continuous journey between two endpoints. Do not assume independent floor zones, simultaneous-user logic or synchronization from the maximum step count. Describe what should happen when each entrance is used and ask for confirmation of the exact system behavior.

Match strip length and service access to the larger project

STEP-09 currently offers 1m and 1.2m strip lengths. Count and strip length are separate choices: 24 step lights do not automatically suit the width or mounting area of all 24 treads. Record any unusually wide or shaped positions before selecting the configuration.

COB construction produces the continuous-looking light line. Aluminum profiles are not included with MALIIGAZA stair-light kits and are not required to create that smooth appearance. Choose the mounting arrangement for the actual surfaces and project requirements without adding profiles merely to hide supposed LED dots.

Keep the controller, supplied power equipment and main-line connections accessible. A longer staircase has more positions to identify if service is needed; number them clearly in the project record and do not seal the main line or its modules permanently behind inaccessible finishes. STEP-09 is an indoor system; the step count does not imply outdoor or wet-area suitability.

Send one complete brief before placing the order

For the hypothetical 24-step project, a useful enquiry would say: “Twelve step lights on each of two flights, a landing between them, these measured tread widths, this proposed accessible main-line route, and these normal entrances.” Add whether the landing itself needs light and which controls are essential.

Ask support or your installer to confirm the exact kit selection, strip lengths, route accessories, complete power arrangement and any unusual entry behavior. The included supply belongs to the selected kit; do not substitute generic sizing assumptions or add lights because a supply appears to have spare capacity. Follow the current instructions, with qualified help for fixed electrical work and uncertain installation details.

For 21–28 indoor steps, STEP-09 offers a clear starting point: a main-line system with capacity beyond the smaller ranges of STEP-P5 and STEP-07. The successful order, however, is the one that covers the whole lighting count, the real route and the required behavior—not just the largest number printed on a controller page.