another way to think of it: P some value multiplied by how far off you are from the setpoint. Integral term is just that from calculus... adding stuff up over

another way to think of it: P some value multiplied by how far off you are from the setpoint. Integral term is just that from calculus... adding stuff up over time. some value (gain) multiplied by the error every N (min/milliseconds/seconds) and sent to the output. usually clamped at some value to avoid runaway errors. aka turn up the heat a little more periodically to eventually reach the setpoint. another math term(derivative being the rate of change of something with respect to something else basically)... the derivative term is supposed to be a way to dampen the output so you don't overshoot it and oscillate around the output value. if you can critically dampen the output you hit the setpoint without overshooting it and quickly. the trick is knowing which to use when because all systems are a little bit different with differing responses to the outputs and some systems are cascading and rely on other pid loops which is another bag of worms.