© Kari Alanne

Heating and Cooling Systems

EEN-E4002 (5 cr)

Fundamentals of automatic control

 Learning objectives

Student will learn to

• know the key terminology, control laws and control properties
• know the fundamentals of the temperature control of hydronic
and electric heating systems
• apply the control laws and computational methods to heating
and cooling systems
 Lesson outline

1. Fundamentals of control
– terminology
– control laws and algorithms
– control properties
2. Control of hydronic heating systems
3. Control of direct electric heating
4. Valve as a component of control system
5. Particularities of the control of heating/cooling coils
 Terminology: disturbances

Changes in direction
Changes in and intensity of Changes in
outdoor solar radiation wind speed
temperature and
and direction
humidity
HVAC systems

Changes in
Changes in
temperature
internal heat
and pressure
loads/gains
of district
heating
network
 Terminology: control system

Disturbances Outdoor temperature,

humidity…
Inputs
Outputs
State
variables

Air flow, temperature, humidity…

 Terminology: closed loop

Closed loop: controlled variable is kept at set point value.

Controlled
variable
Control (process
Set point value Offset (error) signal value)
Controller Process

Measured value
Measure-
ment

Offset = measured value – set point value

Figure: Operation of closed loop control
 Control laws and
algorithms
1. ON/OFF control
– A process is switched on/off, when the measured value
exceeds/undercuts given upper/lower boundary value.
2. PID control
1. Proportional control (P)
• The manipulated variable is directly proportional to the offset.
2. Proportional integral control (PI) These aim at
• ”magnifies” the effect of long-lasting steady-state offsets improving the
3. Proportional integral derivative control (PID) accuracy of
• takes into account the rate-of-change of the offsets the control
through
3. Other control laws and principles recording
– neural networks ”historical”
– optimized control data.
– fuzzy logic
– etc.etc.
 P-control

Control signal is directly proportional to

offset: Control
u t   K p e t  signal

where u  t   control signal at time t

e  t   offset at t
Kp  proportional control factor
Proportional control factor aka proportional
gain indicates, how much the output value
changes, when there is a certain change in Proportional
the input value and the process has obtained band
the steady-state condition. Measurement

Proportional band is defined as a range of

values of the controlled variable, which
100 %
corresponds to the movement of the position Proportional band X p 
Kp
of the final control element aka actuator (e.g.
valve) between its extreme values.
 Examples
• Measured temperature changes from 15 ºC to 25 ºC,
resulting in the movement of the actuator from an
extreme value to another
 proportional band = (25 – 15) ºC = 10 ºC.
• Proportional band of 4 degrees of an individual
temperature controller (P) means that if the measured
room temperature remains 4 degrees below the set
point, the radiator valve is adjusted to fully open
position.
 PI- and PID-control

• P-control never reaches the set point, but an offset remains.

This problem can be solved using
 PI-control (magnifies the offset over time)
 PID-control (magnifies the offset over time and
accounts for the rate-of-change of the offset)
de
u  t   K p e  t   K i  e  t  dt  K d
dt
Kp
missä K i  integral gain
ti
K d  K p td derivative gain
Integral and derivative times
ti  integral time
and control coefficients (gains)
td  derivative time are also known as tuning
parameters.
 Discrete PID-algorithm
• Discrete control algorithm calculates the control signal for the current
time step (un) from the control signal of the previous time step (un-1):
= 0, when PI-controller
 t td 
un  un 1  K p  en  en 1   en  en  en  2en 1  en 2  
 ti t 
= 0, when P-controller
where en, en-1 and en-2 offset at current time step(n),
previous time step (n – 1) and
the time step before (n – 2)
t sampling interval [s]
ti integral time [s]
td derivative time [s]
K control factor (gain)
 Example

A heating coil (nominal thermal output 20 kW) is controlled

using a PI-controller, the proportional gain being 0.01 1/ºC and
integral time 1 s. Due to a sudden malfunction of pre-heating,
the temperature of air flow entering the coil drops stepwise from +10ºC to
+5 ºC. How long does it take before the air temperature (after the
coil) achieves the set point (17ºC)? The air flow is 1.2 kg/s and
The control signal (before the step change) is 40 %.

Assume the control is linear (control signal directly proportional to

thermal output of the coil). The specific heat capacity of air is 1.0 kJ/kgK.
 Illustration
Temperature [ºC]
Set point Tset [ºC] Φnom = 20 kW

17ºC
Supply air
5ºC temperature Ta
12ºC [ºC]
Δt = ?
Time [s]
Constant mass flow, Beginning: End:
 supply air e0 = 5ºC en = 0 ºC
temperature drops
stepwise by 5ºC
u0 = 40 % un = ?
 Solution – I

• Discrete PI-algorithm:
 t 
un  un 1  K p  en  en 1   en 
 ti 

Thermal power: time step n (heating Ta1, n  Ta 2, n )

 n  qma c pa Ta 2, n  Ta1, n   un  nom
Supply air temperature after the coil
n
 Ta 2, n  Ta1, n 
qma c pa
Offset (error)
 en  Tset  Ta 2, n
 Solution – II

• Procedure (example substitution: 1. time step):

– Choose sample interval: 1 s.
1. Guess the offset: time step n = 1: (correct: e1 = 4.63ºC)
2. Calculate the control signal
 t   1s 
u1  u0  K p  e1  e0   e1   0.4  0.01  4.63  5   4.63  0.44
 ti   1s 
3. Calculate the thermal power: Φ1 = 0.44  20 kW = 8.85 kW
4. Calculate the air temperature after the coil Use e.g.: The Circular
Reference function of
1 8.85 kW
Ti 2,1  Ti1,1   5C   12.37C MS Excel.
qmi c pi kg kJ
1.2 1.0
s kgK
5. Calculate new offset: e1 = Tset – Ta2,1 = (17 – 12.37)ºC = 4.63ºC
• Repeat until the offset does not change between two sequential iteration.
6. Run the procedure for each time step, until the offset becomes zero.
• Here en = 0, when n = 87, i.e. the steady-state condition is reached after
Δt = 87 ∙ 1 s = 1 min 27 s after the step change. The control signal is then 72 % and
thermal power 14.4 kW.
 Solution – III

6 80 %
Perceptions:
• The solution describes ideal 5
70 %

control (no delay). 60 %

(%)[%]
4
• The procedure results in stable

(C)
50 %

[°C]

signal
Erosuure
control, because proportional

Ohjaus
3 40 %
gain, integral time and sample Offset

Control
30 %
interval are optimal. (In 2
20 %
practice, to find optimal tuning
1
parameters is a challenging 10 %

task.) 0 0%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Time
Aika[s]
(s)

Offset
Erosuure Ohjaus
Control signal
 Control properties – I

• Slowness: output responds with delay (aka dead time) to changes in set points, input
values and/or control signal
output
set point
63 % measured
value

delay time constant time

(tv) (τ)
• Non-linearity: output behaves differently depending on, which range of values the
changes in output/input take place
output
set point
measured
value

time
 Control properties – II

Example: room
temperature control with
• Hysteresis: behaviour of a system radiator valve
depending on its history (general open
definition).
→ one actuator position refers to
two separate values of the actuator
position
controlled variable
• Requirements for heat distribution
systems: closed
– hysteresis < 1°C
– proportional band: 2…4°C
hysteresis
proportional band (Xp)
 Control properties – III

• The controllability of a system is measured

as the ratio of the dead time (delay, tv)
and the time constant (τ):
tv


• The ratio (σ) is determined experimentally
on the basis of step response (graph).
• Criterion of good controllability: σ < 0.2
• The applicability of different control
algorithms on the basis of controllability:
Controllability Good Satisfactory Poor
Ratio σ < 0.2 0.2 … 0.3 > 0.3
Algorithm P, ON-OFF PI, PD, PID PID
 Example: Control characteristics
for selected HVAC processes

Process tv σ = t v / Xp
Boiler temperature 1…5 min 0.05…0.15 ~20 K
Mixing supply and return
5…20 s 0.2…0.5 20…70 K
water
Room temperature 3…5 min 0.1…0.3 6…10 K
Mixing cold water and hot
0.5…2 s 0.1…0.4 30…60 K
water
DHW heat exchanger
5…30 s 0.1…0.8 30…60 K

Swimming pool, supply 10…60 s 0.1…0.3 2…8 K

return 6…8 h
 Control of hydronic heating
system – general principle
• The heating system is designed Valve positions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pressure drop, Pa
(heating load is determined) on the Target
basis of calculational design
e.g. flow
temperature (extreme conditions and
duration). 3000 Pa rate
• The heating load varies due to Design
disturbances. flow
• Possible controls: rate
– flow control through valves (throttling)
– burner ON/OFF (boiler plants)
• 2 levels of delivered thermal
power/energy supply management:
1. building level (system level): supply
water temperature control (with
mixing valve) 0.8∙qV0 qV0
2. room level: (”fine tuning”): flow Volumetric flow rate, L/h
control (with radiator valves)
 Supply water
temperature control
• Heating load (heat loss) mostly
depends on outdoor temperature
→ Building level control is based on Design conditions
mitoitustilanne

°C °C
changing the set point value of +70

temperature,
supply water temperature +60 Control
according to control curve curve
+50

Menovesi,
• The most common design
temperatures in Finland: 70/40°C +40
(supply/return). normaali-
Operating
+30 tilanne
point
Supply water
• The return water temperature
depends on the heat release of
+20
radiators/convectors/coils. +10
• In contrast with the graph, the
control curve is not always linear, +15 0 –15 –30
since internal and external heat Ulkolämpötila,
Outdoor °C °C
temperature,
gains affect the heating load.
 Positioning control curve on the
basis of realized temperatures

temperature, °C
Supply water

Outdoor temperature, °C Outdoor temperature, °C

• Too steep control curve:
 too high room temperature (at low outdoor temperatures)
Positioning of the control curve on the
 action: flattening the control curve basis of theory → see: next slides
• Too gentle control curve:
 too low temperature (at low outdoor temperatures) Rule of thumb:
 action: steepening the control curve 2°C change in supply water
temperature corresponds approximately
• Too low/high room temperature (at all outdoor temperatures):
1°C change in room temperature.
 action: parallel move of the control curve
 Positioning control curve on the
basis of theory – I
• Starting point: Heat balance
Cooling of water in radiators
= heating load (heat loss) constant
= heat released by radiators into room
qV,a G   a c pa qV ,a   U i Ai
C w (Tsup  Tret )  G (Tint  Text )  Gr i

Tint
C w (Tsup,0  Tret , 0 )  G (Tint, 0  Text , 0 )  Gr , 0 0 Text .
Cw   wc pw qV , w
• Subject to:
Tsup
Conductance of radiator (Note: variable):  
p

p p Gr  Gr , 0  
     1 p  0 
Gr  Gr , 0    Gr  Gr , 0     Gr , 0 p Tret
 0   0  0

Temperature difference between radiator and room

Tsup  Tret
  Tint Subscript 0 refers to design
2
(reference) condition.
Heat release exponent: p = 0.25 … 0.30
 Positioning control curve on the
basis of theory – II

Relationship between supply water Text = const qV , w  const

and room temperatures (derived from
differentiation of the heat balance and known target
defining auxiliary variables a and b Tint → Tint,1
using the known temperatures and
chosen heat release exponent): Tsup → Tsup,1
 a 1 Tret → Tret,1
Tsup  1   Tint
 2 b
Tsup  Tret Tsup  Tsup,1  Tsup
where a Tint  Tint,1  Tint
Tint  Text

b
Tint  Text 1  p  Subscript 1 refers to target
Tsup  Tret condition (e.g. desired room
 Tint temperature at certain Text).
2
 Positioning control curve on the
basis of theory – III
Text = const qV ,w  const
Relationship between return water and room
temperatures : known target
Tint → Tint,1
 1
Tret  21  Tint
 b
Tsup = const
Tret → Tret,1

When flow rate is changed (Tsup = constant): Text = const

a
1
qV , w1  Tsup  Tret   1
2  1 
   b ; Tret,1  Tret  Tret known target
qV , w T T  Tint → Tint,1
 sup ret,1 
Tsup = const
qV , w1 p1 Δp = pressure difference qV,w → qV,w1

qV , w p over heat distribution
network Tret → Tret,1
 Example

Assume a heating system with design

temperatures 70/40/20°C Tsup
(supply/return/room temperatures). The Operating Design
point conditions (0)
design thermal power is 1000 W and the system 70°C
is located in southern Finland (Text,0 = –26°C). It
Known
is known that the realized indoor temperature is Tsup

+22°C, when the outdoor temperature is –10°C

Tsup
(linear control curve 70°C → 20°C).
Target (1)
To save energy, the target room temperature is set Tsup,1

down to 19°C.

Construct a summary table for temperatures,

Text
conductances and thermal powers for each –10°C –26°C
operating point (design, known and target).
The heat release exponent can be chosen p = 0.3.
 Solution – I

1. Design conditions (0):

– Given values:
• 0 = 1000 W
• Text,0 = –26°C
• Tint,0 = 20°C
• Tsup,0 = 70°C
• Tret,0 = 40°C
– Calculated values:
• Conductance of room (constant at all temperatures):
0 1000 W W
 0  G (Tint, 0  Text,0 )  G    21.7
Tint, 0  Text,0 20   26 K K
• Temperature difference between radiator and room:
T T
 0  sup,0 ret,0  Tint, 0 
70  40 C  20C  35C
2 2
• Conductance of radiator:
0 1000 W W
 0  Gr , 0 0  Gr , 0    28.6
0 35 K K
 Solution – II

2. Known conditions:
– Given (or constant) values:
Tsup Given: linear control curve:
• Text = –10°C 70°C (Tsup,0) → 20°C (Tmin)
• Tint = 22°C
70°C
• G = 21.7 W/K (constant)
– Calculated values:
• Realized thermal input to the room: Tsup = ?
  G (Tint  Text )

 22   10  K  696 W
W
 21.7
K
• Supply water temperature (from linearity):

Tsup 
Tmin  Text  C  T  Tmin  C  Tmin
Tmin = 20°C

T
min  Text,0  C
sup,0


20   10 C  70  20 C  20C  52.6 C Text
–10°C –26°C
20   26 C
20°C
 Solution – II

2. Known conditions (cont’d):

– Calculated values:
• Temperature difference between radiator and room: 1
1   0.3
1

 
p
   1 p  696 W  p 0.3

   35 K 
1 p 10.3
 
 Gr  Gr , 0         0     26.5 K

 0  G   W 
   28.6
r ,0 
 K 
• Return water temperature:
Tsup  Tret
  Tint  Tret  2    Tint   Tsup  2  26.5  22C  52.6C  44.3C
2
• Conductance of radiator:
 696 W W
  Gr  Gr    26.3
 26.5 K K
• Auxiliary variables and required change in return water temperature:

a
52.6  44.3C  0.26
Tsup  Tret



Tint  Text 22   10 C   a 1  0.25 1 
Tsup  1   Tint  1     22  19 C  5.3C
T  T 1  p   22   10C  1  0.3  1.57
b  int ext
 2 b   2 1.57 
 26.5C 
 Solution – III

3. Target conditions (1):

– Given values:
• Text,1 = –10°C
• Tint,1 = 19°C
• G = 21.7 W/K (constant)
– Calculated values:
• Desired thermal input to the room:

 19   10  K  630 W
W
1  G (Tint,1  Text,1 )  21.7
K
• Temperature difference between radiator and room:
1
1   1 0.3
  1 p p
 630 W  0.3

1   1   35 K 
1 p 10.3
 0    24.5 K
G   28.6 W 
 r ,0   
 K 
 Solution – IV

3. Target conditions (1)(cont’d):

– Calculated values:
• Conductance of radiator:
1 630 W W
Gr ,1    25.7
1 24.5 K K

• Supply water temperature:

Tsup,1  Tsup,1  Tsup  52.5  5.3C  47.2C

Note: In the present example, the supply water temperature is reduced by ΔTsup.

• Return water temperature

Tret,1  2  1  Tint,1   Tsup,1  2  24.5  19 C  47.3C  39.8C
 Solution – V

Summary table:

Design (0) Known Target (1)

 [W] 1000 696 630
G [W/K] 21.7 21.7 21.7
Gr [W] 28.6 26.3 25.7
Tsup [°C] 70 52.6 47.3
Tret [°C] 40 44.3 39.8
Text [°C] –26 –10 –10
Tint [°C] 20 22 19
 [°C or K] 35 26.5 24.5
 Supply water temperature
control – boiler plants
Supply water temperature (TC2):
1. Outdoor temperature is measured. Outdoor temperature
2. The set point value is read from the
control curve. Controller
3. Supply water temperature is measured.
TC2
4. If the supply water temperature is Mixing
higher than the set point value (positive valve
offset), the mixing valve is opened to
mix the return water at lower
temperature to mix with the water Pump
Controller
coming from the boiler. 80–90°C
TC1
Boiler Radiator
Boiler temperature (TC1):
network
– ON/OFF control
– When the measured temperature
exceeds the upper limit (90°C), the ON/OFF
burner is switched off. When it
undercuts the lower limit (80°C), the
burner is turned on.
 Supply water temperature
control – district heating
TE
Supply water temperature (TC2): 2B
Outdoor temperature
TC TE
1. Outdoor temperature is 2 2A measurement

Energy utility
measured.

Customer
TIA
2. The set point value is read
from the control curve. TV2 Radiator
3. Supply water temperature is M network

measured. Engine
valve
4. The district heating water flow
rate is decreased/increased TI

according to the offset by Pump Expansion

PS
changing the position of the PIA vessel

engine valve (TV2). Pressure measurement

Safety valve
Filling, non-return (check)
and drain valves
 Supply water temperature
control – air heating
For air heating systems, the supply water
temperature is controlled on the basis of the
recirculated air temperature (which is close to
room temperature). The principle will be
developed further on the course ”EEN-E4003 Temperature control
Ventilation and air-conditioning systems”.
Recirculated
air Fresh air

Fan

Con-
version Heating coil
equip-
ment

Ductwork
Structural example of
mixing valve
 Partitioning of
building into zones

Large buildings are often partitioned into control zones

due to divergent heating loads based on factors such as:
• occupancy
• purpose
• required temperature level
• orientation
• floor
• intermittent heating

Heat
source
 Room temperature control
with radiator valves
• Thermostatic valves provide a room
level temperature control.
• The operation is based on a thermal
element that expands due to the rise
of temperature and closes the
spindle. The setpoint value can be
changed according to demand.
• If only room-level control was
implemented (no supply water
temperature control), high supply
water temperature should be (Stem)
maintained all the time
→ significant systemic heat losses
→ no temperature control in spaces
with no valves
→ valve positions would fluctuate a
lot (→ risk of failures)
→ remarkable pressure loss and
noise
 Temperature control –
direct electric heating

• Fixedly mounted thermostat to control

• individual baseboard heaters
• one heater that again controls several slave
heaters, i.e. connected heaters with no
individual thermostat
• Room thermostat to control one or more
(slave) heaters
• Several opportunities for automatic
control, e.g.:
• The temperature drop of 2–15°C may be
allowed to pursue energy savings, when the
room is not occupied. In this case, the
thermostat is equipped with additional
resistance that results in the interpretation of
the room temperature higher than it really is.
The operation may be controlled by a timer.
 Valve as a component of
control system – I
The authority of a control valve (av)
indicates the proportion of the pressure
drop of a valve in the total pressure
drop of the (water) loop in design
conditions (valve fully open).

pv
av 
p
pv  the pressure drop of valve (fully open)
p  the total pressure drop of the water loop (including the valve)

In the design conditions, a valve should

represent at least a half (50 %) of the
total pressure drop of the circulation Self-study: Find out the definition and
loop to be controlled (av > 0.5). significance of the kv-value of a valve.
 Valve as a component of
control system – II
For an ideal control, the av = 0.01 → Flow rate increases rapidly with small openings
dependency between the valve
position and the controlled
variable (flow rate) is linear.

Relative flow rate, qV/qV,max

The greater the authority of a
(linear) valve is, the better is the
linearity between the valve
position and the control variable.
av = 1
Linear flow characteristics: → Flow rate increases
The flow rate is directly linearly with the valve
proportional to the valve opening
position (h), at given pressure
difference. (The impact of the
authority of valve is presented Valve opening, h/hmax
in the graph.)
 Valve as a component
of control system – III
The authority of the valve cannot be = 1
(due to pressure losses of the heat
distribution network). The linearity
between the valve position and the flow
rate can be improved by choosing a non-
linear valve, i.e. the area of the orifice Linear Equal Percentage
(flow channel) does not change in a
linear proportion to the valve position.

Relative flow rate, qV/qV,max

Common non-linear flow characteristics:
• Equal percentage: Each increment in
valve position increases the flow rate
by a fixed percentage of the previous
value. (The impact of the authority of
valve is shown in the graph.)
• Quick opening: A small movement
from the closed position will result in a
large change in flow rate.
Valve opening, h/hmax
 Particularities of the control
of heating/cooling coils – I
• Heating mode
– mixing control (mixing valve)
• constant mass flow through heat exchanger
– water flow control (2-way valve)
• constant supply water temperature (to heat exchanger)
• Cooling mode Ta1 Ta2
– water flow control (mixing valve, bypass)
• constant supply water temperature (to heat exchanger)

Tw1
Fluid releasing heat qmwc pw
(water)
Tw1
Tw2 qmw = const
Tw2 M

Ta2
qma c pa qmw
Fluid receiving heat
Ta1 (air)
 Particularities of the control of
heating/cooling coils – II
• Flow ratio (relative flow rate): • Temperature coefficient:
qmw  qV  Tw1  Tw2
M  a
qmw,max  qV ,max  Tw1  Ta1
qmw,max = (water) flow rate, when the (temperatures as on the previous slide)
valve is fully open [kg/s] • Load factor:
 1
• Control ratio: 
d a 1  M 
qmw,max 1
S M
qmw,min
Φ = heat exchange rate [W]
qmw,min = (water) flow rate, when the Φd = heat exchange rate in design conditions [W]
valve is fully closed [kg/s]

• No-load (stand-by) thermal power min

Note: Valves let some flow through even if
they are fully closed → qmw,min > 0.
– heat transfer rate when the valve is fully
The control ratio is commonly S > 30. closed
 Particularities of the control
of heating/cooling coils – III

Mixing control Water flow control

 
d d

qmw qmw
The smaller the temperature M M mw

coefficient a is, the more non- qmw,max qmw

mw ,100
, max
linear is the control.
 Particularities of the control
of heating/cooling coils – IV

Relation between the flow Equal

percentage
characteristics, the temperature Linear curve
curve
coefficient a and the authority Boundary
of the valve av curve
 Particularities of the control
of heating/cooling coils – V

• The accuracy of temperature control, can be defined as the ratio of stand-by

thermal power (min) and the nominal thermal power (d) (design conditions) as
follows:
 min 1

d 1  a  av  S 2  1  1  1
 

where a temperature coefficient

av authority of the valve
S control ratio of the valve
• When a heating coil operates at small thermal power (near stand-by/no-load
conditions), the control ratio of the valve should be as great as possible (> 100).
 Example

The supply and return water temperatures of a heating

coil (in design conditions) are 60/40 ºC, air leaving/entering
the coil at the temperature +15/–26 ºC. Determine the
accuracy of the temperature control (in degrees centigrade),
when the control ratio is
a) S = 50?
b) S = 100?
 Solution – I

1. Temperature coefficient:

a
Tw1  Tw2

 60  40  C
 0.23
Equal

Tw1  Ta1  60   26   C

percentage Linear curve
curve

2. Authority of the valve: Boundary

curve
– a = 0.23
 Equal percentage curve:
av = 0.6 (> 0.5)

0.23
 Solution – II

3. The standby thermal power / design thermal power:

 min qma c pa Tmin Tmin 1
  
d qma c pa Td Td 1  a  av  S 2  1  1  1
 

4. The accuracy of the temperature control (in °C):

a) Tmin, S 50 
Td

15   26  C  4.2C
1  a  av  S 2  1  1  1 1  0.23   0.6  502  1  1  1
   
b) Tmin,
b) 25  7.8
min,SS100 2.2C
C