Basics About Temperature Controllers

General Considerations

For accurate control of the process temperature without constant operator involvement all industrial thermal process relay upon a controller. The controller gets is inputs from contact temperature sensors like thermocouple, RTD or from a non-contact temperature sensor like an infrared temperature sensor. The controller transmits an electrical signal (current or voltage) to a power switch device which can be a simple relay, a solid state relay or a SCR (Silicone Controlled Rectifier).

Remember: The temperature controller is just one part of the entire control system, so it must be selected accordingly.

The basic types of temperature controllers are:

  1. On / Off control This units turns the power on and off when the setpoint is crossed. This type of controller is adequate when the process temperature is not very critical and/or larger masses need to be heated. (like immersion tanks)
  2. Microprocessor control (PID control) This is a generic term for a control feedback mechanism widely used in thermal control systems. A PID controller attempts to correct the error between a measured process temperature and a desired setpoint by calculating and then outputting a corrective action that can adjust the process accordingly. A widely used PID controller is Ogden's ETR 9090.




Basics About Temperature Controllers

General Considerations

For accurate control of the process temperature without constant operator involvement all industrial thermal process relay upon a controller. The controller gets is inputs from contact temperature sensors like thermocouple, RTD or from a non-contact temperature sensor like an infrared temperature sensor. The controller transmits an electrical signal (current or voltage) to a power switch device which can be a simple relay, a solid state relay or a SCR (Silicone Controlled Rectifier).

Remember: The temperature controller is just one part of the entire control system, so it must be selected accordingly.

The basic types of temperature controllers are:

  1. On / Off control This units turns the power on and off when the setpoint is crossed. This type of controller is adequate when the process temperature is not very critical and/or larger masses need to be heated. (like immersion tanks)
  2. Microprocessor control (PID control) This is a generic term for a control feedback mechanism widely used in thermal control systems. A PID controller attempts to correct the error between a measured process temperature and a desired setpoint by calculating and then outputting a corrective action that can adjust the process accordingly. A widely used PID controller is Ogden's ETR 9090.