Resistor values

Standard resistor values

In 1952 the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) decided to define the resistance and
tolerance values into a norm, to ease the mass manufacturing of resistors. These are referred to as preferred
values or Eseries, and the! are pu"lished in standard IEC #$$#%&19#%. These standard values are also valid
for other components li'e capacitors, inductors and (ener diodes. The preferred values for resistors )ere
esta"lished in 1952, "ut the concept of the geometric series )as alread! introduced "! arm! engineer *enard
in the 1+,$s.
The standardi-ation of resistor values serves several important purposes. .hen manufacturers
produce resistors )ith different resistance values, these end up appro/imatel! e0uall! spaced on a
logarithmic scale. This helps the supplier to limit the num"er of different values that have to "e produced or
'ept in stoc'. 1! using standard values, resistors of different manufacturers are compati"le for the same
design, )hich is favora"le for the electrical engineer.
2side from the preferred values, man! other standards related to resistors e/ist. 2n e/ample is
standard si-es for resistors, or the mar'ing of resistors )ith color codes or numerical codes. 3o)er ratings of
resistors are not defined in a norm, therefore often is deviated from the a"ove descri"ed series.
Preferred values or E-series
2s "asis the E12 has "een developed. E12 means that ever! decade ($.11, 11$, 1$1$$ etc) is divided in 12
steps. The si-e of ever! step is e0ual to&
4ne could also sa! ever! value is 12$5 higher than the last, rounded to )hole num"ers. 1ecause of this, all
resistors )ith a tolerance of 1$5 overlap. The series loo's as follo)s& 16 1.2 6 1.5 6 1.+ 6 2.2 6 2., 6 %.% 6 %.9 6 7., 6 5.#
6 #.+ 6 +.2 6 1$ etc. 2ll these values can "e po)ers of ten (1.26 12 6 12$ etc).
8e/t to the E12 series, other series are e/isting. It is a good practice to specif! resistors from a lo) series
)hen tolerance re0uirements are not high. The most common series are&
E# 2$5
E12 1$5
E27 55 (also availa"le )ith 15)
E7+ 25
E9# 15
E192 $.55 (also used for resistors )ith $.255 and $.15).
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The E# series has si/ values in each decade. The Tolerance is 2$5.
The E12 series is pro"a"l! the most common series and e/ist for almost ever! resistor. The tolerance is :1$5.
The E12 series of resistor values, including their color codes.
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Each decade is divided in 7+ values. 2 third significant digit is added (;ust as for the E9# and E192 series)
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