Sample solution

Problem 5-3B: room heating

balance equation:

For the balance equation one first determines the balance of the heat flows: the difference be-
tween the incoming and outgoing heat flow forms the temporal change of the stored heat in the
room.

 −Q
Q  
in out = Qstored heat . (1)

coupling relations:

Next you need the coupling relations, so that, except for constants, only the output and input var-
iables appear in the equations. The outgoing heat flow is proportional to the total wall area and
the temperature difference; the proportionality factor is the heat transfer coefficient. This results
in

out = k ⋅ A ⋅ (ϑ − ϑa ) = k ⋅ A ⋅ ∆ϑ .

Q (2)

The temporal change of the stored heat depends on the temporal change of the room tempera-
ture, because the specific heat and the mass in the room are constant. Using that the outdoor
temperature is constant, the resulting expression contains the output variable ∆ϑ .

 dQ d d
Q stored heat = = cp ⋅ m ⋅ ϑ = cp ⋅ m ⋅ (ϑ − ϑa ) = cp ⋅ m ⋅ ∆ϑ . (3)
dt dt dt

insert in balance equation and normalize:

With the insertion into the balance equation, i.e. Eq. (2) and Eq. (3) in Eq. (1), the following results

 − k ⋅ A ⋅ ∆ϑ = c ⋅ m ⋅ ∆ϑ
Q  . (4)
in p

The normalization is characterized by the fact that the output variable is shown on the left side of
 , is shown on the right side. Furthermore, the coeffi-
the equation, ∆ϑ , and the input variable, Q zu
cient in front of the output variable itself is equal to one. The equation must therefore be resorted
and divided by k ⋅ A .

cp ⋅ m 1 
zu . (5)
∆ϑ +  =
⋅ ∆ϑ ⋅Q
k⋅A k⋅A

By comparison with the differential equation

x a + T1 ⋅ x a = K ⋅ x e (6)

we can see that it is a PT1 transmission element, where the proportionality factor K has the form
 1
K = (7)
k⋅A

and the characteristic time T1 has the form

cp ⋅ m
T1 = . (8)
k⋅A