Preferred Resistor Values

Resistors are available in a number of standard ranges, often called 'preferred values' These ranges, or series, are set out by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA), and are E3, E6, E12, E24, E48, E96 and E192. The number after the 'E' denotes the number of values the series contains per decade. The E3 and E6 series aren't really used these days; the most common series is probably E24. The series are logarithmic and are derived from the resistor tolerance; resistors with a tighter tolerance can have more values in the series that won't overlap one another. The series are sometimes referred to by the tolerance, the two being related as follows:

E3: 50% tolerance
E6: 20% tolerance
E12: 10% tolerance
E24: 5% tolerance
E48: 2% tolerance
E96: 1% tolerance
E192: less than 1% tolerance

When designing a circuit you need to round calculated resistor values to a preferred value. Normally this would be the value closest to the calculated one for the series you are using. However in some circumstances its better to round up to the next higher value, such as with current limiting resistors where using a value smaller than calculated could overload a component. The tables below show the values for some of the more common preferred series.

E12 Series:

1R0 10R 100R 1K0 10K 100K 1M0 10M
1R2 12R 120R 1K2 12K 120K 1M2  
1R5 15R 150R 1K5 15K 150K 1M5  
1R8 18R 180R 1K8 18K 180K 1M8  
2R2 22R 220R 2K2 22K 220K 2M2  
2R7 27R 270R 2K7 27K 270K 2M7  
3R3 33R 330R 3K3 33K 330K 3M3  
3R9 39R 390R 3K9 39K 390K 3M9  
4R7 47R 470R 4K7 47K 470K 4M7  
5R6 56R 560R 5K6 56K 560K 5M6  
6R8 68R 680R 6K8 68K 680K 6M8  
8R2 82R 820R 8K2 82K 820K 8M2  

E24 Series:

1R0 10R 100R 1K0 10K 100K 1M0 10M
1R1 11R 110R 1K1 11K 110K 1M1  
1R2 12R 120R 1K2 12K 120K 1M2  
1R3 13R 130R 1K3 13K 130K 1M3  
1R5 15R 150R 1K5 15K 150K 1M5  
1R6 16R 160R 1K6 16K 160K 1M6  
1R8 18R 180R 1K8 18K 180K 1M8  
2R0 20R 200R 2K0 20K 200K 2M0  
2R2 22R 220R 2K2 22K 220K 2M2  
2R4 24R 240R 2K4 24K 240K 2M4  
2R7 27R 270R 2K7 27K 270K 2M7  
3R0 30R 300R 3K0 30K 300K 3M0  
3R3 33R 330R 3K3 33K 330K 3M3  
3R6 36R 360R 3K6 36K 360K 3M6  
3R9 39R 390R 3K9 39K 390K 3M9  
4R3 43R 430R 4K3 43K 430K 4M3  
4R7 47R 470R 4K7 47K 470K 4M7  
5R1 51R 510R 5K1 51K 510K 5M1  
5R6 56R 560R 5K6 56K 560K 5M6  
6R2 62R 620R 6K2 62K 620K 6M2  
6R8 68R 680R 6K8 68K 680K 6M8  
7R5 75R 750R 7K5 75K 750K 7M5  
8R2 82R 820R 8K2 82K 820K 8M2  
9R1 91R 910R 9K1 91K 910K 9M1  

E48 Series:

The values of the decade 100-1000 for the E48 series are:

100, 105, 110, 115, 121, 127, 133, 140, 147, 154, 162, 169, 178, 187, 196, 205, 215, 226, 237, 249, 261, 274, 287, 301, 316, 332, 348, 365, 383, 402, 422, 442, 464, 487, 511, 536, 562, 590, 619, 649, 681, 715, 750, 787, 825, 866, 909, 953

Multiply or divide the values by 10 for other decades.

E96 Series:

The values of the decade 100-1000 for the E96 series are:

100, 102, 105, 107, 110, 113, 115, 118, 121, 124, 127, 130, 133, 137, 140, 143, 147, 150, 154, 158, 162, 165, 169, 174, 178, 182, 187, 191, 196, 200, 205, 210, 215, 221, 226, 232, 237, 243, 249, 255, 261, 267, 274, 280, 287, 294, 301, 309, 316, 324, 332, 340, 348, 357, 365, 374, 383, 392, 402, 412, 422, 432, 442, 453, 464, 475, 487, 499, 511, 523, 536, 549, 562, 576, 590, 604, 619, 634, 649, 665, 681, 698, 715, 732, 750, 768, 787, 806, 825, 845, 866, 887, 909, 931, 953, 976,

Multiply or divide the values by 10 for other decades.

E192 Series:

The values of the decade 100-1000 for the E192 series are:

100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 130, 132, 133, 135, 137, 138, 140, 142, 143, 145, 147, 149, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164, 165, 167, 169, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, 182, 184, 187, 189, 191, 193, 196, 198, 200, 203, 205, 208, 210, 213, 215, 218, 221, 223, 226, 229, 232, 234, 237, 240, 243, 246, 249, 252, 255, 258, 261, 264, 267, 271, 274, 277, 280, 284, 287, 291, 294, 298, 301, 305, 309, 312, 316, 320, 324, 328, 332, 336, 340, 344, 348, 352, 357, 361, 365, 370, 374, 379, 383, 388, 392, 397, 402, 407, 412, 417, 422, 427, 432, 437, 442, 448, 453, 459, 464, 470, 475, 481, 487, 493, 499, 505, 511, 517, 523, 530, 536, 542, 549, 556, 562, 569, 576, 583, 590, 597, 604, 612, 619, 626, 634, 642, 649, 657, 665, 673, 681, 690, 698, 706, 715, 723, 732, 741, 750, 759, 768, 777, 787, 796, 806, 816, 825, 835, 845, 856, 866, 876, 887, 898, 909, 920, 931, 942, 953, 965, 976, 988

Multiply or divide the values by 10 for other decades.