Generally the conductivity of a solution increases with temperature, as the mobility of the ions increases. For comparison purposes reference values are reported at an agreed temperature, usually 298 K (≈ 25 °C or 77 °F), although occasionally 20 °C (68 °F) is used. So called compensated measurements are made at a convenient temperature but the value reported is a calculated value of the expected value of conductivity of the solution, as if it had been measured at the reference temperature. Basic compensation is normally done by assuming a linear increase of conductivity versus temperature of typically 2% per kelvin. This value is broadly applicable for most salts at room temperature. Determination of the precise temperature coefficient for a specific solution is simple and instruments are typically capable of applying the derived coefficient (i.e. other than 2%).
Measurements of conductivity  versus temperature can be used to determine the activation energy , using the Arrhenius equation:
where  is the exponential prefactor,  the gas constant, and  the absolute temperature in Kelvin.