Design of feedforward compensator for temperature control system in electric water heater

Abstract

This paper proposes the design and principle to enhance the performance of the temperature control
system in an electric water heater which rapidly controls a temperature of water outlet under disturbances i.e. a
condition of an unsteady fl ow inlet. The ability of a proposed control system employing PID plus Feedforward is
investigated in particular the immunity to disturbances which is the main aim of this research. Microcontrollerbased
control system is used to generate signals and control power delivered to the heater. The design procedure
of proposed method is presented. The experimental results confi rm the excellent control response in particular to
disturbances and effectiveness of this improved temperature control system. The proposed system can be applied
to develop the electric water heater to be an energy effi cient appliance in the future.