Low Inductance The ESL of a capacitor determines the speed of energy transfer to a load. The lower the ESL of a capacitor, the faster that energy can be transferred to a load. Historically, there has been a tradeoff between energy storage (capacitance) and inductance (speed of energy delivery). Low ESL devices typically have low capacitance. Likewise, higher capacitance devices typically have higher ESLs. This tradeoff between ESL (speed of energy delivery) and capacitance (energy storage) drives the PDN design topology that places the fastest low ESL capacitors as close to the load as possible. Low Inductance MLCCs are found on semiconductor packages and on boards as close as possible to the load.