Series Capacitor Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the series capacitor calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Formulas Used

Total Capacitance

total_cap = 1 / (1/c1_uf + 1/c2_uf)

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
c1_ufCapacitor C1(µF)10
c2_ufCapacitor C2(µF)22

How It Works

Series Capacitors

1/C_total = 1/C1 + 1/C2

Series capacitance is always less than the smallest individual value (opposite of parallel).

Worked Example

10 uF and 22 uF in series.

c1_uf = 10c2_uf = 22
  1. 011/C = 1/10 + 1/22 = 0.1 + 0.04545 = 0.14545
  2. 02C_total = 1 / 0.14545 = 6.875 uF

Ready to run the numbers?

Open Series Capacitor Calculator