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Recessed LED Light Drivers

jar546

jar546

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OK, how would you handle this one?

A condo ceiling is being renovated with new drywall. There is no attic above so once drywalled, there is no access. The electrician is installing LED recessed lights with separate drivers that get plugged into. By design, the driver fits into the hole cut for the spring loaded light. The driver is then able to be removed by reaching up into the hole after removing the light and unplugging it from the driver connector. The house wiring should be long enough to allow the driver to be removed and replaced. In this case, the driver gets connected to MC cable but to make it easier for the sheetrock contractor, they screwed the drivers up into the ceiling because they realized there is not enough room to slip the driver up after wiring it due to the shallow depth. This creates an issue where once the drywall is in place and a driver needs to be serviced or replaced, it cannot without cutting out drywall therefore making it no longer accessible.

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I just installed 5 of these, they look nearly identical, and you describe them perfectly. In my case, I was worried that I was burying the junction box in the ceiling for two of them (the other three have attic above). But I decided that removing the spring loaded LED light and accessing the driver, which has a long enough cable to permit it to be pulled down, was good enough. It is installed per the MFR, and you do not need to cut sheetrock. Your case appears to be not only wrong but also not smart. I wouldn't bury a driver, or any other part of this light because at this point I have no faith that something will go wrong, just not a long enough track record for me to be that comfortable. I have 3 1/2" of space, which allows a lot of maneuvering clearance. Yours is tighter but if the drivers were loose and had enough cable to be pulled down I would think they would be ok.
 
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