Check a 220 ohm resistor in the calculator
The calculator is set to 220 Ω with a gold tolerance band. Switch to 5 or 6 bands, change the tolerance, or choose “Read the bands” to decode a resistor you are holding.
220 ohm resistor colour bands
A 220 Ω resistor carries the same value in every marking system; only the number of bands changes. Read from the end with the bands bunched closest to it, with the tolerance band, usually gold or brown and set slightly apart, on the right.
| Marking | Colours | Drawing | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bands, ±5 % | red, red, brown, gold | The most common through-hole marking | |
| 5 bands, ±1 % | red, red, black, black, brown | Precision metal-film resistors | |
| 6 bands, ±1 %, 100 ppm/K | red, red, black, black, brown, brown | Adds a temperature-coefficient band | |
| 3 bands, ±20 % | red, red, brown | Old parts with no tolerance band |
How to read red, red, brown, gold
- First band, red: first digit 2.
- Second band, red: second digit 2, giving 22.
- Third band, brown: multiply by 10, giving 220 Ω.
- Fourth band, gold: tolerance ±5 %.
On the 5-band version the first three bands are digits (220) and the fourth is the multiplier (×1), which comes to the same 220 Ω. Check any other combination with the resistor color code calculator.
What a 220 ohm resistor should measure
Tolerance is how far the real resistance may sit from the marked value. Measured out of circuit with a meter, a good 220 Ω resistor reads within these limits:
| Tolerance | Band | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| ±1 % | Brown | 217.8 Ω | 222.2 Ω |
| ±2 % | Red | 215.6 Ω | 224.4 Ω |
| ±5 % | Gold | 209 Ω | 231 Ω |
| ±10 % | Silver | 198 Ω | 242 Ω |
| ±20 % | None (no band) | 176 Ω | 264 Ω |
Measure it out of circuit, or with one leg lifted: anything connected in parallel in the circuit pulls the reading down. Set a manual meter to the first range above 220 Ω.
Is 220 ohm a standard resistor value?
Yes. 220 Ω belongs to the E3, E6, E12, E24 series of IEC 60063, so it is made in the ±5 % and ±10 % ranges, though not in the ±1 % E96 range. The neighbouring E12 values are 180 Ω below and 270 Ω above. All the series are listed on our E-series resistor values page.
SMD code for 220 Ω
- 3-digit code (usually ±5 %):
221. - 4-digit code (usually ±1 %):
2200. - EIA-96 code (±1 % chips in 0603 and smaller): none: 220 Ω is not an E96 value, so 1 % chips of this value carry the 4-digit code instead.
Decode any chip marking with the SMD resistor code calculator.
Current, power and wattage
By Ohm’s law, I = V ÷ R and P = V² ÷ R. With the whole supply across a 220 Ω resistor:
| Across | Current | Power | Rating to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 V | 15 mA | 49.5 mW | ⅛ W |
| 5 V | 22.7 mA | 114 mW | ¼ W |
| 12 V | 54.5 mA | 655 mW | 2 W |
| 24 V | 109 mA | 2.62 W | a power resistor |
A ¼ W 220 Ω resistor reaches its full rating at 7.42 V (V = √(P × R)). In series with a red LED (about 2 V) on a 5 V supply it passes 13.6 mA. The LED resistor calculator finds the right value for any LED and supply.
What a 220 ohm resistor is used for
220 Ω is the resistor in most Arduino LED starter projects: with a red LED on a 5 V pin it gives a bright but safe current. It also appears in pairs in the MIDI current loop, and as a series resistor protecting microcontroller pins that drive long wires.
Mistakes when reading a 220 ohm resistor
The multiplier band moves the value by a factor of ten for every colour step, so it is the band to check twice, in good light. These are the misreadings that catch people out with 220 Ω:
- Brown read as red. Red, red, red, gold would be 2.2 kΩ, 10 times too high.
- Brown read as orange. Red, red, orange, gold would be 22 kΩ, 100 times too high.
- Reading the 4-band code backwards. It can’t be done: gold is not a digit colour, which is how you know which end comes first.
- Reading the 5-band code backwards. Brown, black, black, red, red reads as 10 kΩ ±2 %, a plausible value, so this mistake goes unnoticed. The tolerance band is usually a little apart from the others; if you can’t tell, measure it.
Making 220 Ω from other values
No 220 Ω in the drawer? Two common E12 values can stand in, within 1 %: in series, 100 Ω + 120 Ω = 220 Ω; 39 Ω + 180 Ω = 219 Ω; in parallel, 270 Ω ∥ 1.2 kΩ = 220.4 Ω; 330 Ω ∥ 680 Ω = 222.2 Ω. Two 220 Ω resistors give 440 Ω in series and 110 Ω in parallel.
Colour codes for other common values
- 1 ohm resistor: brown, black, gold
- 100 ohm resistor: brown, black, brown
- 330 ohm resistor: orange, orange, brown
- 470 ohm resistor: yellow, violet, brown
- 1k resistor: brown, black, red
- 4.7k resistor: yellow, violet, red
- 10k resistor: brown, black, orange
- 100k resistor: brown, black, yellow
- 1M resistor: brown, black, green
Colours follow IEC 60062:2016. Codes, ranges and currents on this page are computed by the same engine as the resistor colour code calculator; see our methodology.