Thus, proportional control (the P curve) on its own leaves us with an offset.

Adding integral control (the

PI curve) removes the offset but can result in an overshoot. Adding all three terms together (the PID
curve) can give us faster control without offsets or overshoot.

However, the truth is that the answer depends on the process and how well each loop is tuned; this may
mean leaving out derivative control, and perhaps also integral control.

Controller term selection

The following three guidelines will help us with our selection:

• If an offset can be tolerated, P only will work. This could be a tank level that is not critical to the
process.
• If an offset cannot be tolerated, use PI control. This could be for temperature control within the
process.
• If the process is very sluggish and you are not concerned about a noisy measurement, use PID.