Remote ballast assembly

A remote ballast assembly for suspending a lighting fixture having a primary and secondary lamp below a drop ceiling, the ceiling forming the bottom boundary of a recessed plenum and having a plurality of spaced apart cross members, the assembly comprising:

• a housing having a plurality of feet affixed to the housing, the feet engaging the cross members to support the housing thereabove, the housing having an opening and a plurality of slots formed therein, the slots adapted to receive support wire therethrough to support the assembly from a fixed structure;
• a junction box affixed to the housing proximate the opening;
• a bracket affixed to the junction box, the bracket including a hook removably engagable with a loop bracket of the lighting fixture, whereby the lighting fixture may be suspended in a substantially vertical position;
• a transformer mounted to the housing, the transformer providing electrical power from a remote source to the primary lamp during normal operation;
• an electromagnetic relay mounted to the housing and in electrical communication with the source of electrical power and with the primary and secondary lamps, the relay providing electrical power to the secondary lamp when electrical power to the primary lamp is interrupted;
• a divider plate positioned within the housing, the divider plate thermally isolating the relay from exposed field wiring;
• a thermal overload protector mounted to the housing, the thermal overload protector interrupting power to the primary and secondary lamps when a predetermined temperature is exceeded;
• and
• an electrical cover affixed to the housing, the electrical cover electrically insulating the internal components and shielding them from external view.