Enter the capacitance of up to 8 capacitors in parallel into the calculator below to calculate the total resulting capacitance. Capacitors in parallel increase the overall capacitance.

Parallel Capacitor Formula

The following equation can be used to calculate the total resulting capacitance of a set of capacitors in a parallel configuration.

C = C1 + C2 + C3….

  • Where C is the total capacitance
  • and C1 – CX is the individual capacitance’s of each capacitor

As can be seen in the formula above, capacitors in parallel yield a significantly larger capacitance than ones in a series. This is because in parallel each capacitor sees the same voltage, while in a series that voltage is split. Since capacitance is calculated through charge and voltage, the capacitance, therefore, depends on the volts running through each capacitor. The units for the equation above are in Farads, the standard unit for capacitance.

Parallel Capacitor Definition

Parallel capacitors are a combination of two or more capacitors that voltage can split through each of the capacitors equally.

How to calculate parallel capacitance?

how to calculate capacitance in parallel

  1. First, measure the capacitance of each of the capacitors.

    Measure the capacitance individually.

  2. Next, calculate the equivalent capacitance.

    Sum all of the individual capacitances to get the equivalent capacitance.

FAQ

What is a parallel capacitor?

Parallel capacitors are a combination of two or more capacitors that voltage can split through each of the capacitors equally.