Building Controls III

Course Transcript

Slide 1
Welcome to Building Controls III: Introduction to Control Loops. This is third course in the building controls series. If
you have not already done so, please participate in Building Controls one and two prior to taking this course.

Slide 2
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Click the Notes tab to read a transcript of the narration.

Slide 3
At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify the five controller loop responses, and you will be able to
• Review the terms associated with controller loop responses

Slide 4
This class is one of a sequence that will provide you with an overview of basic control technology used in buildings,
so that you can see how it can contribute to energy efficiency.

If we can control an environmental system (an environmental system is a collection of equipment that maintains the
environment of a building) we can tell equipment
• When to turn on and off
• How slow or fast to run, and
• How cool or warm the temperature of the air or water needs to be

Slide 5
For an environmental control system, or a Building Automation System to effectively work, three things must take
place:
• Data must be measured and provided as input to the system
• Measured data then can be compared to a set of desired outcomes or instructions, and lastly
• An output is produced based on the measured data to change or maintain the environment

In this section of the class we will

Let’s begin with an explanation of controllers.

Slide 6
Controllers are the components of this system that take in the data from the input devices—such as sensors or
pushbuttons—and process them using programmed logic. Programmed logic can be thought of as the controller’s set
of standards or instructions for what zone and equipment conditions, such as temperature, are supposed to be—and
the mathematical calculations to make the changes to keep zones and equipment conditions at those standards.

Sensors get the measurements, the controller takes those measurements and compares them with its onboard logic,
and then it sends a message to a controlled device. The method with which the controller interacts with the controlled

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device is called the control loop response.

Slide 7
The control loop response refers to how the controller responds.

As we just discussed, when the controller takes in a measurement from a sensor, the controller internally compares
that reading with a set of instructions or standards. For instance, if the temperature in a room is 26 degrees
Celsius/79 degrees Fahrenheit, and the controller has an onboard set of instructions or standards that say this room
is supposed to be at 23 degrees Celsius/74 degrees Fahrenheit, the controller would set out to make a change.

The controller might be connected to a zone damper- which is a type of device that looks a bit like a louver and is
used to control the amount of air entering a space. The method by which the controller controls that device is the
control loop response.

Slide 8
There are five ways that a controller can make a response to the system:
• A two-position response
• A floating response
• A proportional response (also called by its initial P)
• Proportional plus integral (or PI), and
• Proportional plus integral plus derivative (also called PID response)

These five responses can be divided into two broader states: digital and analog. Let’s look at each one of these
responses in more depth—beginning with the two-position response.

Slide 9
Two-position always produces a digital response where the end device is either in an “on” state or “off” state. The
controlled device is also digital.

Slide 10
Floating control is an analog control process. It may be used to control either a tri-state device or an analog device.
Let’s look at the tri-state device first. The tri-state device can accept one of three input signals, - clockwise rotation,
counter-clockwise rotation, or stationary.

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In effect the controller can tell a tri-state device to do one of three things:
• Increase the control output by driving in one of the two directions. For example, this might widen a vent
opening.
• Decrease the control output by driving in the other direction. For example, this might narrow a vent opening.
• Stay still and maintain the current output conditions. This would keep the vent opening the same size.

Slide 11
The floating control process can also be used to control an analog device. The process will increase or decrease the
control signal to the device based on its current position and its operating range. When floating control is used to
control an analog device, the signal will be a value within a range, for example, between 0% and 100%.

Slide 12
Proportional, PI, and PID responses are also all analog type responses, in other words; they exist in a state at or in
between 0 to 100%. They can be thought of existing in a range between on and off, rather than just on or off.

Slide 13
Before we can look at the five responses in detail, we need to establish some common terms relating to controllers.
The temperature we desire to be at, in this diagram is 23 degrees Celsius or 73.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The value that
we aim to achieve, whether it be temperature, humidity, pressure, or another parameter, is called the set-point.

Slide 14
The actual value of a controlling variable is called the control point. Another term that is often used is offset or error.
Both of these terms can be used interchangeably, and they refer to the distance that the actual value is away from
the set-point. This term needs to be understood with the term stability.

It is common when stability is mentioned to associate this term with set-point. This is not the best way, though, to
define this term. In the graph, it is clear that stability can be obtained at an offset, or with error, from the set-point.
Therefore, stability is not necessarily stable at the set-point, but stable at any given value.

Slide 15
This may be more clearly defined as mechanical stability. This stability is obtained when the mechanics are no longer
having to make changes to bring the system into balance.

The issue most systems have is that they can reach stability, but with a certain offset or error. As long as this offset is
tolerable, that’s OK. For temperature in a room, we might not feel the difference of plus or minus a degree.
However, if you’re building a sensitive system, the offset might have a tighter tolerance to the set-point.

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Bottom-line, the question that needs to be addressed in the design is: “Can I reach stability with an acceptable offset
or error from the set-point?”

Offset may also be called drift, deviation or control-point shift.

Slide 16
Now let’s discuss differentials.

The differential is a characteristic of a two-position controller. It is the difference between the setting at which the
controller operates at one position, and the setting at which it changes to the other position. This is needed to prevent
the controller from rapidly cycling off and on, also known as “hunting”.

Slide 17
Imagine a controller which is switching the cool air supply off or on. Without a differential, every tiny deviation from
the set point will make it switch the air supply on, and seconds later it will turn it off again.

Slide 18
With the differential, as long as the sensor is reading “close enough” to the set-point, specified to be within the
differential, the controller will not operate. It will only operate when the difference exceeds the differential.

This diagram illustrates a set point of 23 degrees Celsius with a differential of + or -1 degree Celsius, equivalent to a
73.4 degrees Fahrenheit set point with a + or -1.8 degree Fahrenheit differential. The full differential is a range of 2
degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slide 19
The neutral zone or deadband is a very similar idea, but this is a characteristic of a floating controller, which we will
explore in more detail later in this series of classes.

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It defines a range that is acceptable for control purposes. Imagine that now we are controlling not a simple on or off
signal, but the position of a tri-state device. We can tell the device to rotate clockwise to increase a vent opening, or
to rotate counterclockwise to decrease the opening, or to stay still.

When the measured variable is within the range of the neutral zone, the end device is left at its current state or value.
When the measured variable is outside the neutral zone, the device will be commanded to increase or decrease.

The signal will be increased or decreased for a set period of time and then the measured variable will be checked to
see if it has returned to the neutral zone. If not, the process will be repeated.

Slide 20
The throttling range is the amount of change in the controlling variable required to run the actuator of the controlled
device from one end of its stroke to the other end.

In this example, the throttling range is based on a temperature input, and is from 21°C to 25°C, which is the same as
69.8°F to 77°F. One end of this range corresponds to 0% travel of the actuator. The other end of this range
corresponds to 100% travel of the actuator. Depending on the input value of the controlling variable, the controller
can set the controlled variable to position the actuator anywhere from 0% to 100%.

If the actual value of the variable is within range, it is under control.

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When the variable is outside the range, it is out of control, because the actuator cannot move any further to effect
change.

Slide 21
There is always a range that yields the highest and lowest responses. For a cooling application, if the temperature
was at the top of the throttling range, we would be providing the maximum amount of cold air into the zone.

However, in a heating application, if the temperature was at the top of the throttling range, we would not need more
heating and would be providing the minimum amount of heated air flowing into the zone.

It is important to point out that, just because we have labeled this “the maximum of the throttling range”, doesn’t

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mean we’ll have a maximum response at that point. As we just talked about in the heating application, at the top of
our throttling range, we would have a minimum response.

Slide 22
Let’s summarize some of the information that we have learned in this course.

Today, we learned that controllers are the components of the system that take in the data from the input devices,
such as sensors or pushbuttons, and process them using programmed logic. The method with which the controller
interacts with the controlled device is called the control loop response. We then identified the five control loop
responses, which are:
• A two-position response
• A floating response
• Proportional response (also called by its initial P)
• Proportional plus integral (or P.I.), and
• Proportional plus integral plus derivative (also called P.I.D. response)

We also review the terms associated with control loop responses, which included:
• Set-point
• Offset or error—which is sometimes referred to as drift, deviation or control-point shift
• Stability
• Differential
• Neutral zone, and finally
• Throttling range

In the next course, we’ll address the two-position and floating responses in more depth.

Slide 23
Thank you for participating in this course.

©2023 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.