Calculating Offset Voltage Using Percent of Range

Updated May 16, 2026

This document explains how to calculate offset voltage when a device specification lists offset as a percent of range. This calculation is useful when estimating the expected offset contribution in volts for a selected input range.

 

  1. Identify the offset specification that is listed as a percent of the range.
  2. Identify the full-scale input range of the module in volts.
  3. Convert the percent value to decimal form by dividing by 100.
  4. Calculate the offset voltage using the following formula:
    Offset Voltage = Full-Scale Range × (Percent of Range / 100)
  5. Interpret the result as the expected offset contribution in volts for the selected input range.

The result is an offset voltage value in volts that represents the expected offset contribution for the selected input range based on the percent of range specification.

 

The following example uses the offset specification for a calibrated NI-9232 within one year of calibration under typical conditions of 23 °C, ±5 °C. In the specification table, the offset value of 0.023% of the range is highlighted in red.
A separate range table shows that the selected typical input range is ±31.5 V peak.
 
 
Using a percent of range value of 0.023% and a typical range of 31.5 V, the offset voltage can be calculated as follows:
Offset Voltage = 31.5 V × (0.023 / 100)
Offset Voltage = 31.5 V × 0.00023
Offset Voltage = 0.007245 V

The expected offset voltage is 7.245 mV under these specification conditions. 

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