12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart
Home

AboutUs

CustomerService

AskaQuestion

Talkwithoneofourengineers
MoTh8:00amto5:30pmET

ShoppingCart

18008844967

Fr8:00amto5:00pmET

Instrumartwillbeclosingat3:30PMonDecember23rdclosedthe24thand25th.

Search

Products

Home

Brands

JoinUsonFacebook
FollowUsonTw
FollowUso

Temperature Controller Basics Handbook

CourtesyofDanaherIndustrialControlsGroupProcessAutomation,Measurement,&Sensing
SeeallofDanaher'sPartlowandWestControllers

Whydoweneedtemperaturecontrollers?
Temperaturecontrollersareneededinanysituationrequiringagiventemperaturebekeptstable.Thiscanbeinasituationwhereanobject
isrequiredtobeheated,cooledorbothandtoremainatthetargettemperature(setpoint),regardlessofthechangingenvironmentaround
it.Therearetwofundamentaltypesoftemperaturecontrolopenloopandclosedloopcontrol.Openloopisthemostbasicformandapplies
continuousheating/coolingwithnoregardfortheactualtemperatureoutput.Itisanalogoustotheinternalheatingsysteminacar.Ona
coldday,youmayneedtoturntheheatontofulltowarmthecarto75.However,duringwarmerweather,thesamesettingwouldleave
theinsideofthecarmuchwarmerthanthedesired75.

Openloopcontrolblockdiagram
Closedloopcontrolisfarmoresophisticatedthanopenloop.Inaclosedloopapplication,theoutputtemperatureisconstantlymeasuredand
adjustedtomaintainaconstantoutputatthedesiredtemperature.Closedloopcontrolisalwaysconsciousoftheoutputsignalandwillfeed
thisbackintothecontrolprocess.Closedloopcontrolisanalogoustoacarwithinternalclimatecontrol.Ifyousetthecartemperatureto
75,theclimatecontrolwillautomaticallyadjusttheheating(duringcolddays)orcooling(duringwarmdays)asrequiredtomaintainthe
targettemperatureof75.

Closedloopcontrolblockdiagram

IntroductiontoTemperatureControllers
Atemperaturecontrollerisadeviceusedtoholdadesiredtemperatureataspecifiedvalue.
Thesimplestexampleofatemperaturecontrollerisacommonthermostatfoundinhomes.Forinstance,ahotwaterheaterusesa
thermostattocontrolthetemperatureofthewaterandmaintainitatacertaincommandedtemperature.Temperaturecontrollersarealso
usedinovens.Whenatemperatureissetforanoven,acontrollermonitorstheactualtemperatureinsideoftheoven.Ifitfallsbelowthe
settemperature,itsendsasignaltoactivatetheheatertoraisethetemperaturebacktothesetpoint.Thermostatsarealsousedin
refrigerators.Soifthetemperaturegetstoohigh,acontrollerinitiatesanactiontobringthetemperaturedown.

CommonControllerApplications
Temperaturecontrollersinindustryworkmuchthesamewaytheydoincommonhouseholdapplications.Abasictemperaturecontroller
providescontrolofindustrialorlaboratoryheatingandcoolingprocesses.Inatypicalapplication,sensorsmeasuretheactualtemperature.
Thissensedtemperatureisconstantlycomparedtoausersetpoint.Whentheactualtemperaturedeviatesfromthesetpoint,thecontroller
generatesanoutputsignaltoactivateothertemperatureregulatingdevicessuchasheatingelementsorrefrigerationcomponentstobring
thetemperaturebacktothesetpoint.

CommonUsesinIndustry
Temperaturecontrollersareusedinawidevarietyofindustriestomanagemanufacturingprocessesoroperations.Somecommonusesfor
temperaturecontrollersinindustryincludeplasticextrusionandinjectionmoldingmachines,thermoformingmachines,packagingmachines,
foodprocessing,foodstorage,andbloodbanks.Thefollowingisabriefoverviewofsomecommontemperaturecontrolapplicationsin
industry:

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

1/6

12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart

HeatTreat/Oven
Temperaturecontrollersareusedinovensandinheattreatingapplicationswithinfurnaces,ceramickilns,boilers,andheatexchangers.
Packaging
Inthepackagingworld,machineryequippedwithsealbars,glueapplicators,hotmeltfunctions,shrinkwraptunnelsorlabelapplicators
mustoperateatdesignatedtemperaturesandprocesstimelengths.Temperaturecontrollerspreciselyregulatetheseoperationstoensurea
highqualityproductoutput.
Plastics
Temperaturecontrolintheplasticsindustryiscommononportablechillers,hoppersanddryersandmoldingandextrudingequipment.In
extrudingequipment,temperaturecontrollersareusedtopreciselymonitorandcontroltemperaturesatdifferentcriticalpointsinthe
productionofplastic.
Healthcare
Temperaturecontrollersareusedinthehealthcareindustrytoincreasetheaccuracyoftemperaturecontrol.Commonequipmentusing
temperaturecontrollersincludeslaboratoryandtestequipment,autoclaves,incubators,refrigerationequipment,andcrystallizationgrowing
chambersandtestchamberswherespecimensmustbekeptortestsmustberunwithinspecifictemperatureparameters.
Food&Beverage
Commonfoodprocessingapplicationsinvolvingtemperaturecontrollersincludebrewing,blending,sterilization,andcookingandbaking
ovens.Controllersregulatetemperatureand/orprocesstimetoensureoptimumperformance.

PartsofaTemperatureController
Allcontrollershaveseveralcommonparts.Forstarters,controllershaveinputs.Theinputsareusedtomeasureavariableintheprocess
beingcontrolled.Inthecaseofatemperaturecontroller,themeasuredvariableistemperature.
Inputs
Temperaturecontrollerscanhaveseveraltypesofinputs.Thetypeofinputsensorandsignalneededmayvarydependingonthetypeof
controlledprocess.Typicalinputsensorsincludethermocouplesandresistivethermaldevices(RTD's),andlinearinputssuchasmVandmA.
TypicalstandardizedthermocoupletypesincludeJ,K,T,R,S,BandLtypesamongothers.
ControllerscanalsobesettoacceptanRTDasatemperaturesensinginput.AtypicalRTDwouldbea100platinumsensor.
Alternatively,controllerscanbesettoacceptvoltageorcurrentsignalsinthemillivolt,volt,ormilliamprangefromothertypesofsensors
suchaspressure,level,orflowsensors.Typicalinputvoltagesignalsinclude0to5VDC,1to5VDC,0to10VDCand2to10VDC.Controllers
mayalsobesetuptoacceptmillivoltsignalsfromsensorsthatinclude0to50mVDCand10to50mVDC.Controllerscanalsoaccept
milliampsignalssuchas0to20mAor4to20mA.
Acontrollerwilltypicallyincorporateafeaturetodetectwhenaninputsensorisfaultyorabsent.Thisisknownasasensorbreakdetect.
Undetected,thisfaultconditioncouldcausesignificantdamagetotheequipmentbeingcontrolled.Thisfeatureenablesthecontrollertostop
theprocessimmediatelyifasensorbreakconditionisdetected.
Outputs
Inadditiontoinputs,everycontrolleralsohasanoutput.Eachoutputcanbeusedtodoseveralthingsincludingcontrolaprocess(suchas
turningonaheatingorcoolingsource),initiateanalarm,ortoretransmittheprocessvaluetoaprogrammablelogiccontroller(PLC)or
recorder.
Typicaloutputsprovidedwithtemperaturecontrollersincluderelayoutputs,solidstaterelay(SSR)drivers,triac,andlinearanalogoutputs.
Arelayoutputisusuallyasinglepoledoublethrow(SPDT)relaywithaDCvoltagecoil.Thecontrollerenergizestherelaycoil,providing
isolationforthecontacts.Thisletsthecontactscontrolanexternalvoltagesourcetopowerthecoilofamuchlargerheatingcontactor.It's
importanttonotethatthecurrentratingoftherelaycontactsisusuallylessthan2A.Thecontactscancontrolaheatingcontactorwitha
ratingof1020Ausedbytheheaterbandsorheatingelements.
AnothertypeofoutputisanSSRdriver.SSRdriveroutputsarelogicoutputsthatturnasolidstaterelayonoroff.Mostsolidstaterelays
require3to32VDCtoturnon.AtypicalSSRdriverturnonsignalof10Vcandrivethreesolidstaterelays.
Atriacprovidestherelayfunctionwithoutanymovingparts.Itisasolidstatedevicethatcontrolscurrentsupto1A.Triacoutputsmay
allowsomesmallamountofbleedcurrent,usuallylessthan50mA.Thisbleedcurrentdoesn'taffectheatingcontactorcircuits,butitmaybe
aproblemiftheoutputisusedtoconnecttoanothersolidstatecircuitsuchasaPLCinput.Ifthisisaconcern,astandardrelaycontact
wouldbeabetterchoice.Itprovidesabsolutezerocurrentwhentheoutputisdeenergizedandthecontactsareopen.
Analogoutputsareprovidedonsomecontrollerswhichputouta010Vsignalora420mAsignal.Thesesignalsarecalibratedsothatthe
signalchangesasapercentageoftheoutput.Forexample,ifacontrollerissendinga0%signal,theanalogoutputwillbe0Vor4mA.When
thecontrollerissendinga50%signal,theoutputwillbe5Vor12mA.Whenthecontrollerissendinga100%signal,theoutputwillbe10V
or20mA.
OtherParameters
Temperaturecontrollershaveseveralotherparameters,oneofwhichisasetpoint.Basically,asetpointisatargetvaluesetbyanoperator
whichthecontrolleraimsatkeepingsteady.Forinstance,asetpointtemperatureof30Cmeansthatacontrollerwillaimtokeepthe
temperatureatthisvalue.
Anotherparameterisanalarmvalue.Thisisusedtoindicatewhenaprocesshasreachedsomegivencondition.Thereareseveral
variationsontypesofalarms.Forinstance,ahighalarmmayindicatethatatemperaturehasgottenhotterthansomesetvalue.Likewise,a
lowalarmindicatesthetemperaturehasdroppedbelowsomesetvalue.

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

2/6

12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart

Forexample,inatemperaturecontrolsystem,ahighfixedalarmpreventsa
heatsourcefromdamagingequipmentbydeenergizingthesourceifthe
temperatureexceedssomesetpointvalue.Alowfixedalarm,ontheother
hand,maybesetifalowtemperaturecoulddamageequipmentbyfreezing.
Thecontrollercanalsotestforabrokenoutputdevice,suchasanopen
heatingelement,bycheckingtheamountofoutputsignalandcomparingit
totheamountofdetectedchangeintheinputsignal.Forexample,ifthe
outputsignalis100%andtheinputsensordoesnotdetectanychangein
temperatureafteracertaintimeperiod,thecontrollerwilldeterminethat
theloopisbroken.ThisfeatureisknownasLoopAlarm.
Anothertypeofalarmisadeviationalarm.Thisissetatsomeplusor
minusvaluefromthesetpoint.Thedeviationalarmmonitorstheprocess
setpoint.Theoperatorisnotifiedwhentheprocessbeginstovarysome
preprogrammedamountfromthesetpoint.Avariationonthedeviation
alarmisthebandalarm.Thisalarmwillactivateeitherwithinoroutsidea
designatedtemperatureband.Typically,thealarmpointsarehalfaboveand
halfbelowthecontrollersetpoint.
Forexample,ifthesetpointis150andthedeviationalarmsaresetat
10,thealarmswouldbeactivatedwhenthetemperaturereached160at
thehighendor140atthelowend.Ifthesetpointischangedto170,the
highalarmwouldactivateat180andthelowalarmat160.Another
commonsetofcontrollerparametersarePIDparameters.PID,whichstands
forproportional,integral,derivative,isanadvancedcontrolfunctionthat

Controlleralarmcomparison

usesfeedbackfromthecontrolledprocesstodeterminehowbesttocontrol
thatprocess.

HowitWorks
Allcontrollers,fromthebasictothemostcomplex,workprettymuchthesameway.Controllerscontrol,orhold,somevariableor
parameteratasetvalue.Therearetwovariablesrequiredbythecontrolleractualinputsignalanddesiredsetpointvalue.Theinputsignal
isalsoknownastheprocessvalue.Theinputtothecontrollerissampledmanytimespersecond,dependingonthecontroller.
Thisinput,orprocess,valueisthencomparedwiththesetpointvalue.Iftheactualvaluedoesn'tmatchthesetpoint,thecontroller
generatesanoutputsignalchangebasedonthedifferencebetweenthesetpointandtheprocessvalueandwhetherornottheprocessvalue
isapproachingthesetpointordeviatingfartherfromthesetpoint.Thisoutputsignaltheninitiatessometypeofresponsetocorrectthe
actualvaluesothatitmatchesthesetpoint.Usually,thecontrolalgorithmupdatestheoutputpowervaluewhichisthenappliedtothe
output.
Thecontrolactiontakendependsonthetypeofcontroller.Forinstance,ifthecontrollerisanON/OFFcontrol,thecontrollerdecidesifthe
outputneedstobeturnedon,turnedoff,orleftinitspresentstate.
ON/OFFcontrolisoneofthesimplesttypesofcontroltoimplement.Itworksbysettingupahysteresisband.Forinstance,atemperature
controllermaybesettocontrolthetemperatureinsideofaroom.Ifthesetpointis68andtheactualtemperaturefallsto67,anerror
signalwouldshowa1difference.Thecontrollerwouldthensendasignaltoincreasetheappliedheattoraisethetemperaturebacktothe
setpointof68.Oncethetemperaturereaches68,theheatershutsoff.Foratemperaturebetween68and67,thecontrollertakesno
actionandtheheaterremainsoff.However,oncethetemperaturereaches67,theheaterwillagainkickin.
UnlikeON/OFFcontrol,PIDcontroldeterminestheexactoutputvaluerequiredtomaintainthedesiredtemperature.Theoutputpowercan
rangefrom0to100%.Whenananalogoutputtypeisused,theoutputdriveisproportionaltotheoutputpowervalue.However,ifthe
outputisabinaryoutputtypesuchasarelay,SSRdriver,ortriac,thentheoutputmustbetimeproportionedtoobtainananalog
representation.
Atimeproportionedsystemusesacycletimetoproportiontheoutputvalue.Ifthecycletimeissetto8seconds,asystemcallingfor50%
powerwillhavetheoutputonfor4secondsandofffor4seconds.Aslongasthepowervaluedoesn'tchange,thetimevalueswouldn't
change.Overtime,thepowerisaveragedtothe50%commandedvalue,halfonandhalfoff.Iftheoutputpowerneededtobe25%,then
forthesame8secondcycletime,theoutputwouldbeonfor2secondsandofffor6seconds.

Outputtimeproportioningexample
Allthingsbeingequal,ashortercycletimeisdesirablebecausethecontrollercanmorequicklyreactandchangethestateoftheoutputfor
givenchangesontheprocess.Duetothemechanicsofarelay,ashortercycletimecanshortenthelifeofarelay,andisnotrecommendto
belessthan8seconds.ForsolidstateswitchingdeviceslikeanSSRdriverortriac,fasterswitchingtimesarebetter.Longerswitching

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

3/6

12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart

times,nomatterwhatoutputtype,allowformoreoscillationintheprocessvalue.Thegeneralruleisthat,ONLYiftheprocesswillallowit,
whenarelayoutputisused,alongercycletimeisdesired.

AdditionalFeatures
Controllerscanalsohaveanumberofadditionaloptionalfeatures.Oneoftheseiscommunicationcapability.Acommunicationlinkletsthe
controllercommunicatewithaPLCoracomputer.Thisallowsdataexchangebetweenthecontrollerandthehost.Anexampleoftypical
dataexchangewouldbethehostcomputerorPLCreadingtheprocessvalue.
Asecondoptionisaremotesetpoint.Thisfeatureallowsaremotedevice,suchasaPLCorcomputer,tochangethecontrollersetpoint.
However,unlikethecommunicationcapabilitymentionedabove,theremotesetpointinputusesalinearanaloginputsignalthatis
proportionaltothesetpointvalue.Thisgivesanoperatoraddedflexibilitybybeingabletochangethesetpointfromaremotelocation.A
typicalsignalmightbe420mAor010VDC.
AnothercommonfeaturesuppliedwithcontrollersistheabilitytoconfigurethemusingspecialsoftwareonaPCconnectedviaa
communicationslink.Thisallowsquickandeasyconfigurationofthecontrollerandalsotheoptiontosaveconfigurationsforfutureuse.
Anothercommonfeatureisadigitalinput.Thedigitalinputcanworktogetherwitharemotesetpointtoselectthelocalorremotesetpoint
forthecontroller.Itcanalsobeusedtoselectbetweensetpoint1andsetpoint2asprogrammedinthecontroller.Digitalinputscanalso
remotelyresetalimitdeviceifithasgoneintothelimitcondition.
Otheroptionalfeaturesincludeatransmitterpowersupplyusedtopowera420mAsensor.Thispowersupplyisusedtosupply24VDC
poweratamaximumof40mA.
Insomeapplications,adualcolordisplaycanalsobeadesirablefeature,makingiteasytoidentifydifferentcontrollerstates.Some
productsalsohavedisplaysthatcanchangefromredtogreenorviceversadependingonpreprogrammedconditions,suchasindicatingan
alarmcondition.Inthiscase,noalarmmightbeshownbyagreendisplay,butifanalarmispresentthedisplaywouldturnred.

TypesofControllers
Temperaturecontrollerscomeinmanydifferentstyleswithavastarrayoffeaturesandcapabilities.Therearealsoplentyofwaysto
categorizecontrollersaccordingtotheirfunctionalcapabilities.Ingeneral,temperaturecontrollersareeithersingleloopormultiloop.
Singleloopcontrollershaveoneinputandoneormoreoutputstocontrolathermalsystem.Ontheotherhand,multiloopcontrollershave
multipleinputsandoutputs,andarecapableofcontrollingseveralloopsinaprocess.Morecontrolloopspermitcontrollingmoreprocess
systemfunctions.
Reliablesingleloopcontrollersrangefrombasicdevicesthatrequiresinglemanualsetpointchangestosophisticatedprofilersthatcan
automaticallyexecuteuptoeightsetpointchangesoveragiventimeperiod.
Analog
Thesimplest,mostbasiccontrollertypeistheanalogcontroller.Analogcontrollersarelowcost,simplecontrollersthat
areversatileenoughforrugged,reliableprocesscontrolinharshindustrialenvironmentsincludingthosewithsignificant
electricalnoise.Controllerdisplayistypicallyaknobdial.
BasicanalogcontrollersareusedmostlyinnoncriticalorunsophisticatedthermalsystemstoprovidesimpleONOFF
temperaturecontrolfordirectorreverseactingapplications.BasiccontrollersacceptthermocoupleorRTDinputsand
offeroptionalpercentpowercontrolmodeforsystemswithouttemperaturesensors.Theirbasicdrawbackisalackofreadabledisplayand
lackofsophisticationformorechallengingcontroltasks.Plus,theabsenceofanycommunicationabilitylimitstheirusetosimple
applicationssuchasON/OFFswitchingofheatingelementsorcoolingdevices.
Limit
Thesecontrollersprovidesafetylimitcontroloverprocesstemperature.Theyhavenoabilitytocontroltemperatureontheirown.Put
simply,limitcontrollersareindependentsafetydevicestobeusedalongsideanexistingcontrolloop.Theyarecapableofaccepting
thermocouple,RTD,orprocessinputswithlimitssetforhighorlowtemperaturejustlikearegularcontroller.Limitcontrolislatchingand
partofredundantcontrolcircuitrytopositivelyshutathermalsystemdownincaseofanoverlimitcondition.Thelatchinglimitoutputmust
beresetbyanoperatoritwillnotresetbyitselfoncethelimitconditiondoesnotexist.Atypicalexamplewouldbeasafetyshutofffora
furnace.Ifthefurnaceexceedssomesettemperature,thelimitdevicewouldshutthesystemdown.Thisistopreventdamagetothe
furnaceandpossiblyanyproductthatmaybedamagedbyexcessivetemperatures.
GeneralPurposeTemperatureControllers
Generalpurposetemperaturecontrollersareusedtocontrolmosttypicalprocessesinindustry.Typically,theycomeina
rangeofDINsizes,havemultipleoutputs,andprogrammableoutputfunctions.ThesecontrollerscanalsoperformPID
controlforexcellentgeneralcontrolsituations.Theyaretraditionallyplacedinthefrontpanelwiththedisplayforeasy
operatoraccessibility.
MostmoderndigitaltemperaturecontrollerscanautomaticallycalculatePIDparametersforoptimumthermalsystem
performanceusingtheirbuiltinautotuningalgorithms.ThesecontrollershaveapretunefunctiontoinitiallycalculatethePIDparameters
foraprocess,andacontinuoustunefunctiontoconstantlyrefinethePIDparameters.Thisallowsforquicksetup,savingtimeandreducing
waste.
ValveMotorDrive
Aspecialtypeofgeneralpurposecontrolleristhevalvemotordrive(VMD)controller.Thesecontrollersarespecificallydesignedtocontrol
valvemotorsusedinmanufacturingapplicationssuchasgasburnercontrolonaproductionline.Specialtuningalgorithmsgiveaccurate

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

4/6

12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart

controlandfastoutputreactionwithouttheneedforslidewirefeedbackorexcessiveknowledgeofthreetermPIDtuningalgorithms.VMD
controllerscontrolthepositionofthevalve,somewherebetween0%to100%open,dependingontheenergyneedsoftheprocessatany
giventime.
Profile
Profilingcontrollers,alsocalledrampsoakcontrollers,allowoperatorstoprogramanumberofsetpointsandthetimetositateach
setpoint.Programmingasetpointchangeiscalledrampandthetimetostayateachsetpointiscalledsoakordwell.Oneramporonesoak
isconsideredtobeonesegment.Aprofilerofferstheabilitytoenteranumberofsegmentstoallowcomplextemperatureprofiles.The
profilescanbereferredtoasrecipesbytheoperator.Mostprofilersallowstorageofmultiplerecipesforlateruse.Smallerprofilersmay
allowforfourrecipeswithsixteensegmentseachwithmoreadvancedprofilersallowingformorerecipesandsegments.
Profilecontrollersareabletoexecuterampandsoakprofilessuchastemperaturechangesovertime,alongwithholdandsoak/cycle
duration,allthewhilebeingunattendedbyanoperator.
Typicalapplicationsforprofilecontrollersincludeheattreating,annealing,environmentalchambers,andcomplexprocessfurnaces.
MultiLoop
Besidessingleloopcontrollerswhichcancontrolonlyoneprocessloop,multiloopcontrollerscancontrolmorethanoneloop,meaningthey
canacceptmorethanoneinputvariable.
Generallyspeaking,amultiloopcontrollercanbethoughtofasadevicewithmanyindividualtemperaturecontrollersinsideasingle
chassis.Thesearetypicallymountedbehindthepanelasopposedtoinfrontofthepanelaswithgeneralpurposesingleloopcontrollers.
Programminganyoneoftheloopsissimilartoprogrammingapanelmountedtemperaturecontroller.However,multiloopsystemstend
nottohavethetraditional,physicaluserinterface(nodisplayorswitches),insteadusingadedicatedcommunicationslink.
MultiloopcontrollersneedtobeconfiguredbyaspecializedsoftwareprogramonaPCthatcandownloadtheconfigurationtothecontroller
usingthededicatedcommunicationsinterface.
Informationcanberetrievedviaacommunicationsinterface.CommoncommunicationsinterfacesthataresupportedincludeDeviceNet,
Profibus,MODBUS/RTU,CanOPEN,Ethernet/IP,andMODBUS/TCP.
MultiloopcontrollersprovideacompactmodularsystemthatcanoperateeitherwithinastandalonesystemorinaPLCenvironment.Asa
replacementfortemperaturecontrolsinPLCs,theyprovidefastPIDcontrolandoffloadmuchofthemathintensiveworkfromthePLC
processor,allowingforfasterPLCscanrates.AsareplacementformultipleDINcontrollers,theyprovideasinglepointofsoftwareaccess
toallcontrolloops.Thecostofinstallationisreducedbyeliminatingmuchwiring,panelcutouts,andsavingpanelspace.
Multiloopcontrollersprovidesomeadditionalfeaturesnotavailableontraditionalpanelmountedcontrollers.Forinstance,multiloop
controllershavehigherloopdensityforagivenspace.Somemultilooptemperaturecontrolsystemscanhaveupto32loopsofcontrolina
DINrailmountedpackagenotmuchlongerthan8".Theyalsoreducewiringbyhavingacommonconnectionpointforpowersupplyand
communicationsinterfaces.
Multilooptemperaturecontrollersalsohaveenhancedsecurityfeatures,oneofwhichistheabsenceofbuttonswhereanyonecanchange
criticalsettings.Byhavingcompletecontrolovertheinformationbeingreadfromorwrittentothecontroller,themachinebuildercanlimit
theinformationthatanygivenoperatorcanreadorchange,preventingundesirableconditionsfromoccurring,suchassettingasetpointtoo
hightoarangethatmaydamageproductorthemachine.Inaddition,controllermodulescanbehotswapped.Thisletsacontrollermodule
bechangedoutwithouthavingtopowerdownthesystem.Modulescanalsoautoconfigureafterahotswap.

OtherTemperatureControllerCharacteristics
SupplyVoltage
Therearetypicallytwosupplyvoltageoptionswhenitcomestotemperaturecontrollers:lowvoltage(24VAC/DC)andhighvoltage(110
230VAC).
Size
ControllerscomeinseveralstandardsizesthatarereferredtobyDINnumberssuchas1/4DIN,1/8DIN,1/16DINand1/32DIN.DINisan
acronymfortheroughlytranslated"DeutscheInstitutfurNormung,"aGermanstandardsandmeasurementsorganization.Forourpurposes,
DINsimplyindicatesthatadevicecomplieswithagenerallyacceptedstandardforpaneldimensions.

DINsizecomparison
DINSize

1/4

1/8

1/16

1/32

Sizeinmm

92x92

92x45

45x45

49x25

Sizeininches 3.62x3.62 3.62x1.77 1.77x1.77 1.93x0.98

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

5/6

12/24/2015

TemperatureControllerBasicsHandbook|Instrumart

Thesmallestsizeisthe1/32DIN,whichis24mm48mm,withacorrespondingpanelcutoutof22.5mm45mm.Thenextsizeupisthe
1/16DINwhichmeasures48mm48mmwithapanelcutoutsizeof45mm45mm.The1/8DINis48mm96mmwitha45mm92mm
panelcutout.Lastly,thelargestsizeisthe1/4DINmeasuring96mm96mmwitha92mm92mmpanelcutout.
ItisimportanttonotethattheDINstandardsdonotdeterminehowdeepacontrollermaybebehindapanel.Thestandardsonlyallowfor
frontpaneldimensionsandpanelcutoutdimensions.
AgencyApprovals
Itisdesirableforatemperaturecontrollertohavesomesortofagencyapprovaltoensurethatthecontrollermeetsaminimumsetof
safetystandards.Thetypeofapprovaldependsonthecountryinwhichthecontrollerwillbeused.Themostcommonapproval,ULandcUL
registration,appliestoallcontrollersusedintheU.S.andCanada.Usually,thereisonecertificationrequiredforeachcountry.
ForcontrollersthatareusedinEuropeanUnioncountries,CEapprovalisnecessary.
AthirdtypeofapprovalisFM.ThisappliesonlytolimitdevicesandforcontrollersintheU.S.andCanada.
FrontPanelEnclosureRating
Animportantcontrollercharacteristicisthefrontpanelenclosurerating.TheseratingscanbeintheformofanIPratingoraNEMArating.
IP(IngressProtection)ratingsapplytoallcontrollersandareusuallyIP65orhigher.Thismeansthatfromthefrontpanelonly,the
controlleriscompletelyprotectedfromdustandagainstlowpressurejetsofwaterfromalldirectionswithonlylimitedingresspermitted.IP
ratingsareusedintheU.S.,Canada,andEurope.
Acontroller'sNEMA(NationalElectricalManufacturersAssociation)ratingisparalleltotheIPrating.MostcontrollershaveaNEMA4or4X
rating,whichmeanstheycanbeusedinapplicationsrequiringwaterwashdownonly(notoilsorsolvents).TheX'inaNEMA4Xrating
meansthatthefrontpanelwon'tcorrode.NEMAratingsareusedprimarilyintheU.S.andCanada.

SHOP

SUPPORT

COMPANYINFO

Products

CustomerService

AboutUs

Brands

AskaQuestion

ContactUs

Promotions

TrackOrder

MARKETSECTORS
GovernmentBuyers

18008844967
Talktooneofourengineers
MoTh8:00amto5:30pmET
Fr8:00amto5:00pmET

PrivacyPolicy
Jobs
SellyourproductsonInstrumart

Instrumart
35GreenMountainDr
SBurlington,VT05403
18028630085

FollowUsonTwitter
Email
JoinUsonFacebook

sales@instrumart.com

JoinUsonGoogle+

TotalTemperatureInstrumentation,Inc.2015(DBAInstrumart)

https://www.instrumart.com/pages/283/temperaturecontrollerbasicshandbook

6/6