2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.

Building Controls I - An Introduction to Building Controls

Course Description
Have you ever been in a meeting in a conference room where the room was just too hot? Or
too cold? Did you find it uncomfortable and hard to concentrate? Have you ever considered
how much money is wasted when things like that are not addressed? Whats the solution? The
control system within a building is very important to the energy efficiency of the building, and
also to the comfort of the buildings occupants. In this class, we will learn a simple definition of a
control system, learn the components of a control system, and describe some fundamental
types of control and control loops.


Objectives
Summarize what a basic control system is
Describe the main types of control loops
Explain the role of input devices, controllers and controlled devices in a control
system, and
List the commonly used control technologies and identify their advantages and
disadvantages

Course Outline
1) Introduction
2) What Is Control?
a. Involves different components
i. Inputs or sensors
1. First step of control
2. Measure what we wish to control
ii. Controllers
1. Collect needed data from the sensors
2. Compare those measurements with a set of standards or
instructions
iii. Outputs or controlled devices
1. Components that the controller activates in order to produce
a change in the system

3) Control Loops & Control Systems
a. Control Loop
i. One input sensor, a controller housing the control logic and one
controlled device
b. Control System
i. A collection of control loops

4) Types of Control Loops
a. Open

2011 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.

i. The output has no effect on the controlling variable

b. Closed
i. The controlling variable is affected by the actions of the controlled
device upon the controlled variable
c. Cascading
i. Used to modify the performance of closed control loops when
required

5) Red Wire & Direct Digital Controls
a. DDC
i. More sophisticated system
ii. Use electronic controllers that support multiple control loops
b. Enable / disable control
i. Another form of electronic control
ii. Simply turns another controller on or off
iii. One controller will determine when another controller is able to
perform its function

6) Summary
a. For an environmental control system to effectively manage the
environment in a building, thereby increasing energy efficiency and
occupant comfort, three things must take place:
i. Data must be measured and provided as input to the system
ii. Measured data then can be compared to a set of desired outcomes
or instructions
iii. An output is produced based on the measured data to change or
maintain the environment
b. A simple control loop is defined as one input to a controller housing the
control logic, which provides an output to one controlled device
c. Inputs and outputs may be analog or digital
d. A controller may contain many control loops, and a control system may
contain many controllers
e. There are three types of control loops
i. Open
ii. Closed
iii. Cascading
f. And there are three common control technologies
i. Pneumatic
ii. Electrical, and
iii. Electronic
g. Electronic controls may be
i. Direct Digital Control, called DDC, or
ii. Enable / Disable Control