Toward a Standard Thermistor Calibration Method:

Data Correction Spreadsheets

by Matthew D. Alexander and Kerry T.B. MacQuarrie

Abstract
Temperature is one of the most frequently measured physical phenomena in environmental research. Many laboratory
and field investigations of temperature use commercially available temperature loggers that come from the manufacturer
precalibrated. After-market calibration of temperature loggers provides more confidence in measured data. This paper pro-
poses a general method for calibrating temperature loggers in order to obtain consistent, high-quality data. A procedure and
derivation of equations for performing logger calibration is presented. Spreadsheets are described for calculating correction
coefficients and adjusting proxy data to a reference temperature. A temperature logger calibration example demonstrates the
importance of instrument calibration and the improvement in accuracy. The procedure and spreadsheets presented here can
be used for calibration and correction of data from any type of thermistor.

Introduction require little maintenance while deployed. Temperature

Temperature is one of the most frequently measured
physical parameters in environmental research. Many sur-
face water studies use temperature for investigating anthro-
pogenic impacts, such as forest harvesting (Holtby 1988;
Johnson and Jones 2000) and climate change (Hauer et al.
1997; Westmacott and Burn 1997; Langan et al. 2001). The
accurate determination of temperature is important in
ground water–surface water interaction studies focusing on
ground water–surface water connectivity (Doussan et al.
1994; Silliman et al. 1995) and in research focusing on
cold water fish habitat (Curry et al. 1995; Alexander and
Caissie 2003), lake hydrology (Mellina et al. 2002; Oltchev
et al. 2002), wetland hydrology (Hunt et al. 1996; Bravo
et al. 2002), and near-shore ocean environments (Land and
Paull 2001; Moore et al. 2003). Temperature has also been
extensively used for investigating ground water recharge
(e.g., Stallman 1965; Sorey 1971; Boyle and Saleem 1979;
Taniguchi et al. 1999; Constantz et al. 2003; Ferguson et al.
2003), interpreting ground water flow direction (Drury
et al. 1984; Reiter 2001), determining ground water travel
time (Nightingale 1975; Lapham 1989), and monitoring the
progress of ground water remediation (Puhakka et al.
2000).
Commercially available temperature loggers (i.e., self-
contained data measuring and recording instruments) are
used for many field investigations. These loggers, which
often employ a thermistor, are very user friendly and
Copyright ª 2005 National Ground Water Association.
loggers generally come from the manufacturer precali-
brated, but this calibration should be tested for correctness.
Calibration of multiple loggers installed at a site or study
area will ensure that all data are comparable. Additionally,
calibration will typically yield improved logger accuracy.
The sensitivity and measurement range for a thermistor
may also degrade over time, and recalibration may be
required on a regular basis.
Figure 1 shows data obtained from a temperature log-
ger that was received from a manufacturer and used with-
out after-market calibration. Temperatures measured using
a mercury thermometer calibrated to National Institute of
Scientific Testing (NIST) standards are also plotted. The
data show that the logger underestimates the reference tem-
perature during step 1 and step 3 and overestimates the ref-
erence temperature during step 2. Data from the same
logger, following after-market calibration, is plotted for
comparison (Figure 1). It is evident that calibration pro-
duces a more accurate fit of the proxy data to the reference
temperature.
The purpose of this paper is to propose a general
method for calibrating temperature loggers (i.e., those that
employ negative temperature coefficient [NTC] thermis-
tors) in order to obtain consistent, high-quality data. A pro-
cedure and derivation of equations for performing logger
calibration are presented. Spreadsheets are described for
calculating correction coefficients and adjusting proxy
data to a reference temperature. The importance of instru-
ment calibration and the improvement in accuracy is dem-
onstrated through an example.

Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 25, no. 4/ Fall 2005/pages 75–81 75
 40
30
Temperature (ºC)
20
10 Step 2
Step 1 Mercury thermometer temperature
0 Uncorrected temperature logger data
Corrected temperature logger data
-10
09:00 11:00 13:00
Time (HH:mm)
Figure 1. Example of how the temperature from a thermistor
can deviate from that of a reference temperature. Data correc-
tion, via thermistor calibration, produces data that better
matches the temperature it is referenced to.
Steinhart-Hart Thermistor Calibration Method
The most critical concept in temperature measurement
is instrument accuracy, which is a function of how well
instrument-measured temperature agrees with a reference
temperature. Ideally, all temperature instruments should be
calibrated to a reference temperature over the range of
expected measurement before and after use (i.e., to deter-
mine potential drift in measurements). Only then can the
temperatures measured by the instrument be adjusted to
a reference temperature. This is important when using tem-
perature from a series of different loggers because the cali-
bration procedure will align all the measurements to
a common benchmark. In addition, only temperatures from
calibrated instruments can be confidently compared.
Thermally sensitive resistors (i.e., thermistors) are one
of the most commonly used temperature measurement de-
vices because they are robust (they can be installed in
many environments), they have a high degree of accuracy
(generally <0.01
C can be easily attained), and they are
relatively inexpensive (~$100US). Thermistors measure
the response of resistance to temperature variations and
use this as a proxy for temperature. There are two types of
thermistors available, NTC thermistors and positive tem-
perature coefficient (PTC) thermistors, of which NTC ther-
mistors are the most common. The response of resistance
vs. temperature for a thermistor is highly nonlinear and is
almost exponential in nature as shown in Figure 2. An
approximation for the relationship between resistance and
temperature is given by (BetaTHERM Sensors 2004):

b 
R 5 ae T (1)
where R is resistance [L2MT
3I
2], a is the temperature
coefficient of resistance, which is a material characteristic
[T
1], b is a material constant that accounts for the expo-
nential nature of the equation [L2MT
3I
2], and T is tem-
perature [T]. Equation 1 is a general approximation for
curve-fitting thermistor data.
76 M.D. Alexander and K.T.B. MacQuarrie/ Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 25, no. 4: 75–81
30000
Step 3
Resistance (Ohms)
20000
10000
0
-40 -20 0 20 40
15:00
Temperature (ºC)
Figure 2. Example of the nonlinear response of resistance vs.
temperature for an NTC thermistor.
Steinhart and Hart (1968) examined ~100 relationships
between resistance and temperature using equations that
had from two to five fitted constants. Their analyses yiel-
ded a highly precise third-order modified log polynomial
equation (standard error of 1.62 3 10
4 over a 200
C tem-
perature range; n ¼ 21 observations) for correcting proxy
temperature measurements made from NTC thermistors.
The full equation was slightly modified because it was
determined that the squared term in the polynomial expres-
sion resulted in a less accurate model fit, so the term was
eliminated. The general form of the Steinhart-Hart equa-
tion is expressed as (Steinhart and Hart 1968):
T
1 5 A 1 B ln R 1 Cðln RÞ3 (2)
where A, B, and C are dimensionless variables referred to
as the Steinhart-Hart calibration coefficients (hereafter
referred to as the S-H coefficients). This equation remains
in use because it is the most accurate function for fitting
proxy data to reference temperature data (ILX Lightwave
2000a, 2000b). The method generally yields a precision of
60.001
C over the range of
40
C to 1150
C.
Manufacturers typically supply the S-H coefficients for
thermistors. Manufacturer-applied S-H coefficients are
sometimes identical for the same model of thermistor; how-
ever, these coefficients may vary for individual thermistor
units. The procedure for determining the S-H coefficients in-
volves measuring the thermistor resistance for three known
temperatures (i.e., measured using a previously calibrated
instrument). The temperature span for calibration should
extend slightly beyond the range of measurement desired
for the thermistor (the smaller the range, the better the
model will fit the data) using evenly spaced measurement
points. Generally, the three temperature points used for the
calibration are the lower bound, upper bound, and midpoint
between the two bounds of maximum desired range.
To perform the calibration, it is critical to have a system
that can maintain temperatures with a high degree of sta-
bility. A highly stable thermal environment can be created
within a circulating liquid bath because logger immersion
ensures complete contact between the thermistor and the
liquid medium. Briefly, logger calibration is performed as and
follows: (1) set the lower bound temperature for the circu- 1
1
lating bath and allow it to stabilize; (2) following stabiliza-  

1 1 T1 T3
tion, read and record the temperature of the fluid (T1)

½ðlnR1 Þ
ðlnR2 Þ3
T1 T2 ðlnR1 Þ
ðlnR3 Þ
using a calibrated reference temperature instrument; (3) C 5h i h i ðlnR Þ3
ðlnR Þ3
3 3 1 3
measure and record the thermistor resistance (R1) at that ðlnR1 Þ
ðlnR2 Þ
ðlnR1 Þ
ðlnR2 Þ 3
ðlnR1 Þ
ðlnR3 Þ
temperature (resistance measurements should, at a mini-
(9)
mum, be made in triplicate for improved modeling accu-
racy); and (4) repeat the previous steps for the midpoint (T2 Entering temperature and resistance data for three mea-
and R2) and for the upper temperature bound (T3 and R3). surement points provides the solution to the system of
Following these steps, the data can be used with Equation 2 equations. The equations can be efficiently solved using
to calculate the S-H coefficients. a spreadsheet. Additionally, a spreadsheet formatted with
the equations is useful for calibrating a large number of
thermistors.
Derivation of Spreadsheet Equations
Equation 2 contains three unknowns (the S-H co-
efficients), which must be solved in order to model therm- The Spreadsheet Model
istor resistance data. The expression for the three The spreadsheet, S-H COEFFICIENTS.XLS, was dev-
temperature values is: eloped to perform two functions based on the Steinhart-
Hart equation. These functions are (1) to calculate the S-H
Ti
1 5 A 1 Bðln Ri Þ 1 Cðln Ri Þ3 (3) coefficients from user-entered thermistor resistance and
where i ¼ 1, 2, 3. reference temperature data for three measurement points
Three unknowns (A, B, and C) are contained in the and (2) to use the calculated S-H coefficients to calculate
previous equations. These equations can be solved simulta- corrected temperature from measured resistance data.
neously using matrix solution methods or using sequential The spreadsheet was designed to run directly from the
substitution. Presented here is the method for sequentially windows environment within Microsoft Excel (version 9.0).
solving for the S-H coefficients. Combining Equations 1 S-H COEFFICIENT.XLS directs the user via a graphical
and 2 and expressing the resulting equation with respect to environment. The workbook is divided into three user-
R gives: friendly worksheets: (1) Homepage; (2) Calibration; and
" (3) Data Transformation. The Homepage worksheet pro-
 2 
2 
3   2 2 3 # vides information on the spreadsheet model (references)

a a b3
a a b3
1 1 1
1 and contains links to the other worksheets. The Calibration
2 4 27 2 4 27
R5e worksheet is used to calculate the S-H coefficients. In this
worksheet, the user is prompted to enter thermistor resis-
(4) tance data and temperature measured using a reference
The temperature coefficient of resistance in Equation 4 instrument for three measurement points. From these data,
can be defined as: the model will calculate the S-H coefficients for that partic-
ular thermistor. To convert resistance data measured from
A
T11 a thermistor to corrected temperature, the Data Trans-
a5 (5)
C formation worksheet can be used.
These spreadsheets are available for free download
Similarly, the material constant in Equation 4 is repre-
from http://www.unb.ca/civil/hydro/water.htm.
sented by:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 3  2 ffi
B a
b5 1 (6) Temperature Logger Calibration Example
3C 4
To demonstrate the importance of instrument calibra-
Now the system of equations can easily be solved. By tion, the results for a laboratory calibration of nine
combining Equation 3 with Equations 4 through 6, three VEMCO Minilog TX temperature loggers (VEMCO Lim-
functions for sequentially calculating the S-H coefficients ited, Nova Scotia, Canada) used by the authors are pre-
using laboratory calibration data can be derived. The first sented. These loggers are commonly used for measuring
S-H coefficient is defined as: water temperatures in the field (e.g., Alexander 1998;
Curry et al. 2002; Alexander and Caissie 2003; MacDonald
A
1 5 T1
Cðln R1 Þ3
Bðln R1 Þ (7)
et al. 2003; Alexander and MacQuarrie in press; Dawe and
Equation complexity increases with the S-H coefficient as MacQuarrie in press). The loggers measure the NTC of
shown by the other two expressions: electrical resistance using a thermistor and record tempera-
  h i ture within the internal memory. The stainless steel sensor
1 1 3 3
T1
T2
C ðln R1 Þ
ðln R2 Þ is 3 mm in diameter and is located at the tip of a 10-cm-long,
B5 (8) 2-cm–outside diameter polyvinyl chloride housing. All log-
ðln R1 Þ
ðln R2 Þ
gers of the same type (i.e., TX) come from the manufacturer

M.D. Alexander and K.T.B. MacQuarrie/ Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 25, no. 4: 75–81 77
preloaded with a common set of S-H coefficients for con-
verting measured resistance to temperature. As received
from the manufacturer, the temperature loggers have a mea-
surement range of
5
C to 135
C with a 0.2
C resolution
and a 60.3
C accuracy. These loggers do not measure
a continuous change in resistance but rather measure resis-
tance changes in steps that are directly recorded as tempera-
ture in increments of 0.156
C.
A constant-temperature circulator (Polyscience, Nites,
Illinois) that has a temperature range of
45
C to 1200
C
and a stability of 60.01
C was used for controlling and
maintaining constant temperatures. A 1:1 mixture of ethyl-
ene glycol and water was used for the reservoir fluid to cal-
ibrate the thermistors in the range of
30
C to 140
C. A
NIST-referenced mercury thermometer (scale range:
8
C
to 132
C) with an accuracy of 60.1
C was used for mea-
suring the temperature of the reservoir fluid and is referred
to hereafter as the reference temperature. All the loggers
were programmed for synchronized time-triggered
temperature measurements. Temperatures within the con-
stant-temperature circulator were logged every 10 s, and
temperatures in the bath were maintained for a minimum of
15 min in order to obtain multiple measurements from the
loggers for improved calibration accuracy.
Six temperature steps were imposed during the labora-
tory calibration; however, data from only three steps were
used for calculating the S-H coefficients. Data from the
other steps were used to verify the calibration results. The
complete set of calibration data for two temperature loggers
(i.e., logger 3634 and logger 3635) is shown in Figure 3.
For clarity, the data for the other seven temperature loggers
are not shown in the graph, but the results are similar to
those shown. Additional panels of Figure 3 show exploded
views of the individual temperature steps for comparison of
the thermistor proxy data to the reference temperature.
During all temperature steps, the true temperature of
the reservoir fluid was constant, indicating that the system
was stable at the set temperature. Logger 3634, during all

A) Thermistor data set prior to Steinhart-Hart coefficient correction

30 Step 6:
upper-bound
calibration point
Step 5

20

Step 1: Step 4:
10 lower-bound mid-point
calibration point calibration point

Step 3 Logger 3634 uncorrected temperature

Logger 3635 uncorrected temperature
Step 2
0 Reference temperature - NIST calibrated
Temperature (ºC)

Logger accuracy bounds

12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00

-3.8 0.2 4.2

-4.0 B) Step 1: lower-bound 0.0 C) Step 2 4.0 D) Step 3

-4.2 -0.2 3.8

-4.4 -0.4 3.6

-4.6 -0.6 3.4

12:00 12:10 12:20 12:50 13:00 13:10 13:30 13:40 13:50

14.2 24.2 32.2

14.0 E) Step 4: mid-point 24.0 F) Step 5 32.0 G) Step 6: upper-bound

13.8 23.8 31.8

13.6 23.6 31.6

13.4 23.4 31.4

14:20 14:30 14:40 15:10 15:20 15:30 15:55 16:05

Time (HH:mm)

Figure 3. Temperature measurement data for two temperature loggers for (A) the complete six-step laboratory calibration experi-
ment. Panels B through G show exploded views of each temperature step. Note: The time scale for step 6 is only 15 min as opposed
to 20 min for all other steps.

78 M.D. Alexander and K.T.B. MacQuarrie/ Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 25, no. 4: 75–81
temperature steps, underestimated the true temperature. In
contrast, logger 3635, during all temperature steps except Table 1
step 1, overestimated the true temperature. The tempera- Statistical Summary of Laboratory Calibration
ture measured by each logger varied less than 61 logger Temperature (8C) Data for Nine Temperature Log-
temperature resolution (i.e., 0.156
C); however, this gers Prior to Applying the Steinhart-Hart Correction
increased to almost 62 logger resolutions when data
Logger ID Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
for the two loggers were combined. Temperature measured
by logger 3635 was more variable than that measured Reference
4.15
0.20 3.80 13.80 23.80 31.82
by logger 3634. The temperatures measured by the two 3628
4.40
0.27 3.69 13.75 23.79 31.87
loggers fall within the accuracy range reported by the 3629
4.23
0.26 3.69 13.75 23.72 31.69
manufacturer. 3630
4.23
0.26 3.80 13.84 23.88 31.88
Table 1 provides the mean temperature for each logger 3631
4.19
0.14 3.84 13.90 23.88 31.88
during the six temperature steps. The results show that the 3632
4.23
0.26 3.83 13.86 23.88 31.88
difference of the logger temperature from the true tempera- 3633
4.28
0.26 3.69 13.75 23.78 31.87
3634
4.40
0.41 3.69 13.68 23.72 31.69
ture, for all nine loggers, was within the manufacturer-
3635
4.23
0.20 3.84 13.82 23.87 31.88
reported accuracy bounds; however, in two instances dur- 3637
4.23
0.26 3.69 13.75 23.86 31.87
ing step 1 two loggers (i.e., 3628 and 3634) were very near Range1 0.215 0.265 0.155 0.221 0.16 0.19
the lower boundary. In all steps, the temperature range
among the nine loggers was less than the accuracy bounds. Note: All steps had 122 measurements per logger, except step 6 that only had 92
measurements per logger.
The temperature range for step 2 was very close to the re- 1
Maximum logger mean difference
minimum logger mean difference.
ported accuracy limits. For negative temperatures, the log-
gers tended to underestimate the true temperature. For
positive temperatures, the number of loggers that under-
estimated the true temperature decreased as the tempera- The data correction yielded an increased accuracy for the
ture increased. loggers. Following calibration, the accuracy became the
Temperature data from steps 1, 4, and 6 were used to same as the measurement resolution of 60.156
C, which is
calculate the S-H calibration coefficients. The calculated a 100% increase in logger accuracy.
coefficients were used to correct the laboratory calibration A statistical summary for all nine loggers, after Stein-
data. The corrected data for the same two loggers in hart-Hart correction, is provided in Table 2. Results show
Figure 3 (i.e., logger 3634 and logger 3635) are plotted in that the difference from the reference temperature is zero
Figure 4. After correction, the temperature measured by or very near zero for the three steps used for calibrating the
the loggers fluctuated about the reference temperature loggers. The temperature range between sensors decreased
instead of measuring temperatures entirely above or below. considerably between pre- and post-data correction.

-3.8 0.2 4.2

A) Step 1: lower-bound B) Step 2 C) Step 3
-4.0 0.0 4.0

-4.2 -0.2 3.8

-4.4 -0.4 3.6

Temperature (ºC)

-4.6 -0.6 3.4

12:00 12:10 12:20 12:50 13:00 13:10 13:30 13:40 13:50

14.2 24.2 32.2

D) Step 4: mid-point E) Step 5 F) Step 6: upper-bound
14.0 24.0 32.0

13.8 23.8 31.8

13.6 23.6 31.6

13.4 23.4 31.4

14:20 14:30 14:40 15:10 15:20 15:30 15:55 16:05

Time (HH:mm)

Logger 3634 corrected temperature

Logger 3635 corrected temperature
Reference temperature - NIST calibrated
Improved logger accuracy bounds

Figure 4. Temperature measurement data following Steinhart-Hart correction for data from two temperature loggers for the
zoomed-in step data from Figure 3. Note: the time scale for step 6 is only 15 min as opposed to 20 min for all other steps.

M.D. Alexander and K.T.B. MacQuarrie/ Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation 25, no. 4: 75–81 79
 from spatially distributed temperature loggers, it is parti-
Table 2 cularly important to have loggers calibrated to common
Statistical Summary of Laboratory Calibration benchmark temperatures. The results presented here dem-
Temperature (8C) Data for Nine Temperature onstrate that temperature loggers can vary considerably in
Loggers Following Steinhart-Hart Correction the temperature that they record; however, through calibra-
tion the measurements can be referenced to a common
Logger ID Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
benchmark and the temperature accuracy can often be
Reference
4.15
0.20 3.80 13.80 23.80 31.82 improved.
3628
4.15
0.08 3.84 13.80 23.78 31.82 The procedure and spreadsheet solutions for the S-H
3629
4.15
0.20 3.74 13.80 23.80 31.82 coefficients presented here allow for rapid calibration of
3630
4.15
0.21 3.82 13.81 23.82 31.82 multiple thermistor-based loggers. An additional spread-
3631
4.15
0.16 3.79 13.80 23.78 31.82 sheet is available that can be used to calibrate those loggers
3632
4.15
0.22 3.84 13.81 23.81 31.82 that directly store temperature, rather than resistance data.
3633
4.15
0.14 3.79 13.80 23.78 31.82
3634
4.15
0.20 3.87 13.81 23.84 31.82
3635
4.15
0.15 3.87 13.81 23.83 31.82
3637
4.15
0.18 3.77 13.80 23.86 31.82
Acknowledgments
Range1 0.002 0.144 0.129 0.014 0.08 0 The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Coun-
cil of Canada (NSERC) supported M.D. Alexander under
Note: All steps had 122 measurements per logger, except step 6 that only had scholarship 231069-2000 PGSA. Research support was
92 measurements per logger. Steps 1, 4, and 6 were used for calculating the
Steinhart-Hart calibration coefficients. provided through an NSERC Discovery Grant awarded to
1
Maximum logger mean difference
minimum logger mean difference. K.T.B. MacQuarrie. A Department of Fisheries and
Oceans Science Subvention Grant was also used for
research support. The authors wish to thank D. Caissie and
R.A. Curry for initial manuscript review and the anony-
The temperature loggers used for this example, as mous reviewers for their valuable comments.
with many other commercially available temperature log-
gers, record temperature and not resistance in their mem- Editor’s Note: The use of brand names in peer-reviewed
ory. These temperature loggers generally come from the papers is for identification purposes only and does not con-
manufacturer precalibrated with the S-H coefficients. A stitute endorsement by the authors, their employers, or the
particular model of temperature logger will often have National Ground Water Association.
a common set of calibration coefficients, which indicates
that each one is not individually calibrated. Although
these loggers record temperature and not resistance, they
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Alexander, M.D. 1998. Effects of beaver (Castor canadensis)
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Biographical Sketches
Matthew D. Alexander, B.Sc., GIT, is completing a Ph.D. in
ground water studies from the Department of Civil Engineering,
University of New Brunswick (P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB
E3B 5A3, Canada; (506) 453-4528; m.alexander@unb.ca). His
research focuses on the thermal regime of shallow ground water
and a small Atlantic salmon stream bordering a clearcut with
a streamside buffer. His interests include the use of temperature to
investigate ground water–surface water interaction, and numeri-
cal modeling of ground water flow and heat transport.
Kerry T.B. MacQuarrie, Ph.D., P.Eng., is a professor in the
Department of Civil Engineering, coordinator of the UNB Ground
water Studies Group, and currently holds a Canada Research
Chair in ground water–surface water interaction at the University
of New Brunswick (P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3,
Canada; (506) 453-4521; ktm@unb.ca). His research areas
include the transport and fate of contaminants in the subsurface
and the use of hydraulic, thermal, and geochemical information to
understand ground water–surface water interactions. In addition,
he conducts research in finite-element modeling of ground water
flow and solute transport, and multicomponent reactive transport
modeling.
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