Temperature and process controllers manage heaters, coolers, valves, relays and other control elements to maintain the measured value at the desired setpoint. You can explore PID and ON/OFF controllers according to input type, control output, panel size, alarm and communication features.
A controller compares the temperature or process value received from the sensor with the setpoint defined by the user. Depending on the difference, it generates a relay, SSR, analog output or valve control signal. The PID algorithm continuously evaluates the process response to reduce overshoot and fluctuations. In simpler applications, ON/OFF control may be sufficient.
Input types such as Pt100, thermocouple, 4-20 mA or 0-10 V should be compatible with the measurement element. The control output may be relay, SSR drive, 4-20 mA or another type depending on the equipment being controlled. Heating-cooling control, ramp-soak programming, number of alarms, auto-tuning, RS-485 Modbus communication and panel dimensions are also important selection criteria.
Control dynamics may vary in ovens, heaters, cooling systems, plastics, packaging, food processing, HVAC and other process applications. For this reason, not only the temperature range but also the process delay and output element should be considered. At Tesla Kontrol, we support the combined selection of the sensor, controller and output element.
