Control Systems 199

sure reducing valves is a three-way air valve and a two-position

manual or automatic switch. The function of this switch is to
change the ports on the three-way valve. If the switch is set for
summer or day the normally open (NO) port is open, and the
normally closed (NC) port is closed. Air from the lower pressure
reducing valve is allowed to flow through the NO port into the
common (C) port to the controllers. Air from the higher pressure,
pressure reducing valve is blocked. When the switch is set for
winter or night operation, the NO port closes and the NC port
opens. This allows air from the higher pressure, pressure reducing
valve to flow through the NC port into the common (C) port to
the controllers. Air from the lower pressure, pressure reducing
valve is blocked.

DIRECT DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS OPERATION

DDC (direct digital control) is the automated control of a

condition or process by a digital computer. A comparison can be
made between conventional pneumatic controls and DDC. A typi-
cal HVAC pneumatic control system may consist of a pneumatic
temperature sensor, pneumatic controller, and a heating or cool-
ing valve. In the pneumatic system the sensor provides a signal to
the controller, the controller provides an output to the valve to
position it to provide the correct temperature of supply air. A
DDC system replaces this local control loop with an electronic
temperature sensor and a microprocessor to replace the controller.
The output from the microprocessor is converted to a pressure
signal to position the same pneumatic heating and cooling valve
as in the pneumatic control system. However, the DDC system is
not limited to utilizing pneumatic control devices but may also
interface with electric or electronic actuators.
Electric or pneumatic devices can be used to provide the
control power to the final control elements (the controlled device),
but the DDC system provides the signal to that device. In a true
DDC system, there is no conventional controller. The controller
200 HVAC Fundamentals

has been replaced by the microprocessor. A common application

of DDC includes the control of the heating valve, cooling valve,
mixed air damper, outside air damper, return air damper, and
economizer cycles to maintain the desired supply air temperature.
Other systems commonly controlled by DDC include: chilled
water temperature, hot water temperature, and variable air vol-
ume capacity.
The DDC system uses a combination of software algorithms
(mathematical equations) and hardware components to maintain
the controlled variable according to the desires of the system
operator. The controlled variables may be temperature, pressure,
relative humidity, etc. In the past, the maintenance and operations
personnel had to calibrate the local loop controller at the
controller’s location. Now, with a DDC system, the system’s op-
erator may tune the control loop by changing the software vari-
ables in the computer using the operator’s keyboard. So, instead
of calibrating the hardware controller the control sequence and
setpoint are input to the computer by a software program and
modified by a proper password and the appropriate command
keyboard entry.
The DDC system monitors the controlled variable and com-
pares its value to the desired value stored in the computer. If the
measured value is less than or greater than the desired value, the
system output is modified to provide the correct value. Because
the microprocessor is a digital device, there must be some feature
in the DDC panel to convert the digital signal to an output signal
which the controlled device can use. Pneumatic actuators can be
used to position the controlled device. If this is the case, there
must be a component or translator incorporated to provide a digi-
tal-to-pneumatic conversion. This is done with a digital-to-voltage
converter and voltage-to-pressure converter (electric-to-pneu-
matic transducer). It is the development of these transducers and
the development of the computer hardware and software that
have made DDC systems cost effective. If the measured value is
less than or greater than the desired value the computer circuitry
outputs a series of digital impulses that are converted to a modu-