Why do I have to use specific dimmer switches for LED systems?
Incandescent dimmers work by turning the power off and on to bulbs very quickly. With an incandescent bulb the energy spikes like this are fine, since the human eye can't detect the flickering in the light. LED lights, however, require precise amount of energy to operate at, and their drivers and ballasts can't handle the fluctuations in power caused by incandescent dimmers. LED dimmers just limit the amount of power that's sent to the bulb in order to dim the light.