Why Your LED Bulbs Flicker on a Dimmer (and the Exact Fix)

Flicker when you dim an LED almost always points to a mismatch, not a dead bulb.

Old leading-edge (TRIAC) dimmers were built for 60W incandescent loads. A modern LED might draw only 9W. That low load can drop below the dimmer’s minimum holding current, making the bulb strobe or buzz. Lutron tests bulb-dimmer combinations and publishes the results: if your bulb is not on the compatibility list for your dimmer model, flicker is predictable.

First, check that the LED package says “dimmable.” Then check the dimmer’s minimum load — many old models need 25-60W of incandescent load, while LED-rated dimmers go as low as 5W. If your total LED wattage is below that minimum, add a load-correction module or swap to an LED-compatible trailing-edge dimmer.

Quick test: turn the dimmer to full brightness. If the flicker stops, the problem is almost certainly dimming compatibility, not the fixture wiring.

Action: before buying another bulb, search your dimmer model plus “LED compatibility” and buy a bulb that is listed — not one that merely says “dimmable.”