Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

• HOME
• AIR CONDITIONING
• ELECTRICAL
• EXTERIORS
• HEATING
• HOME INSPECTION
• INTERIORS
• PLUMBING
• ROOFING
• SEPTIC SYSTEMS
• STRUCTURE
• WATER SUPPLY

• ENERGY SAVINGS
• ENVIRONMENT
• INDOOR AIR IAQ
• INSULATION
• MOLD INSPECT TEST REMOVE
• NOISE
• ODORS
• SOLAR ENERGY
• VENTILATION
• EXPERTS DIRECTORY
• CONTACT US

This article explains what a heat anticipator is on a wall thermostat, where to find it, what it looks like, why we adjust the heat anticipator, how we do so. We list the recommended heat anticipator settings.

This article series on room thermostats and heat anticipators continues discussion of the basics of heating or cooling system thermostats, their use, setting, and adjustment. Here we provide A Guide to Finding, Using, and Adjusting Thermostats for Heating & Air Conditioning Furnaces & Boilers, Heat Pumps or Electric Furnaces or Boilers.

This website answers most questions about central heating system troubleshooting, inspection, diagnosis, and repairs. We describe how to inspect residential heating systems to inform home owners, buyers, and home inspectors of common heating system defects.

The articles at this website describe the basic components of a home heating system, how to find the rated heating capacity of an heating system by examining various data tags and components, how to recognize common heating system operating or safety defects, and how to save money on home heating costs. We include product safety recall and other heating system hazards.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

How & Why to Adjust the Heat Anticipator on a Room Thermostat

Thermostats may also have a "heat anticipator" adjustment which is tuned to the particular heating system to avoid heater on-off oscillating too close to the thermostat's set point.

What is a thermostat heat anticipator? The purpose of a thermostat heat anticipator is to "de-sensitize" the thermostat so that when actual room temperature is hovering close to the set temperature on the thermostat, the thermostat switch won't keep switching the air conditioner or heating system on and off too often - which can damage the equipment.

In our photo you can see our pointer hovering over fine wires wound around a triangular piece of plastic (forming a variable resistor) and you can see at center of the photo a flat copper arm which can be moved to slide a contact to different positions along the wound variable resistor.

The triangular pointer at the top of the copper arm has an opening which helps read the exact position to which the heat anticipator has been set. Behind the pointer you can see a silver scale with different amp readings which are detailed in the table below. On this heat anticipator setting scale settings range from 0.10 to about 2 Amps.

The heat anticipator scale: If you click to enlarge this photo you can see the amperage level to which this heat anticipator had been set when we took this picture. It is below the lowest setting recommended by Honeywell.

How Does the Thermostat Heat Anticipator Actually Work?

The heat anticipator in an electromechanical thermostat includes a tiny heating coil which warms the thermostat's room temperature sensing bimetallic spring. Warming up the thermostat's sensor causes it to "open" its contacts (stop calling for heat) a little before the room temperature actually reaches the thermostat's "set" temperature.

Stopping the call for heat a little early allows for the delivery of residual heat that is already in the boiler or furnace but that has not yet reached the living space. By turning off the call for heat a little early we avoid "overshooting" or making the room warmer than the thermostat's set temperature. The heat anticipator is anticipating the additional heat that is going to arrive and regulating the thermostat accordingly.

What is the Difference Between the Heat Anticipator and a Heating Control Device Differential?

The differential is the temperature (or pressure) change or "differential" between the LOW and HIGH settings of a heating system control. See AQUASTAT CONTROL Functions for an example of control differential settings on heating equipment.

A heat anticipator will not work accurately unless the following conditions are met:

• The heating or air conditioning system itself has been adjusted to match the electrical current of the valve or relay which the thermostat is controlling. This is a technical problem for your heating or air conditioning service technician, not something a homeowner can address.
  
  
• The thermostat is installed at a location where voltage and current (amps) fall on or within the limits of the adjustable heat anticipator
  
  
• The thermostat is not installed on a power pile system (don't ask).
  
  
• The heat anticipator on the thermostat should be set to match the requirement & electrical characteristics of the particular heating or air conditioning control circuit that it is switching on and off.

What Should Be the Heat Anticipator Settings on a Room Thermostat?

Just below we give a table of heat anticipator settings recommended by Honeywell.

Watch out: as Honeywell warns thermostat installers:

This thermostat has an adjustable heat anticipator and will operate properly only if this [heat anticipator resistor] heater is adjusted to match the current of the valve or relay. See HEAT ANTICIPATOR Mini Ammeter to Check for details.

Set the heat anticipator to the heating boiler or furnace manufacturer's recommendation, or if you don't know that number, you can either leave the heat anticipator at its factory setting (recommended) or you can use a mini-ammeter to actually measure the heating thermostat circuit and to fine tune the heat anticipator setting, as we discuss further at HEAT ANTICIPATOR Mini Ammeter to Check

Set the heat anticipator to a lower number to let the heat run longer or make the room a bit warmer in relation to the set point on the thermostat.

Set the heat anticipator to a higher number to cause the heat anticipator to itself heat up the thermostat, causing the thermostat to be "satisfied" or to turn off the heating system sooner, thus making the room a bit cooler in relation to the set point on the room thermostat.

When we adjust the heat anticipator on a thermostat that has one, we are fine-tuning the amount of heat anticipation that the device is allowing.

More Information about Heating System Controls

Definition of Amps, Electrical Current, and Definition of Ohms, Electrical Resistance

Because some controls are used in common on hot water heat, hot air heat, and steam boilers, readers should see these other articles: see BOILER CONTROLS & SWITCHES, and also see BOILER COMPONENTS & PARTS for a detailed list of heating boiler controls, other heating system components, parts such as circulator pumps & draft regulators. If your building uses warm air heat, see  FURNACE CONTROLS & SWITCHES. If your building uses steam heat see STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS. Also see Heat Won't Turn Off - Stop Unwanted Heat.

Readers needing to find and fix un-wanted air leaks, heat losses, or other energy wasters should see HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS. Readers should see ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT CASE STUDY and also see HEAT LOSS DETECTION TOOLS and INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT for energy saving retrofit detailed guides. Also see GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS for more details on how to inspect and test LP and natural gas piping, controls, valves, and tanks.

Questions & Answers regarding this article

.

Share this Article      

...

Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman - Publisher & Editor.
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

THERMOSTATS, HEATING / COOLING
  Types of Building & Room Thermostats
  How Thermostats Work
  Detailed Guide to Room Thermostats
  How to Set the Thermostat
  COOL OFF HEAT, Thermostat Switch
  FAN ON AUTO Thermostat Switch
  HEAT ANTICIPATOR Adjustment
  HEAT ANTICIPATOR Mini Ammeter to Check
  HEAT PUMP Thermostats - Outdoors
  INSTALL & WIRE Thermostats
  TEMPERATURE RESPONSE of Room Thermostats
  SWITCH FUNCTIONS on a Room Thermostat

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.

• Carbon Monoxide Gas Toxicity, exposure limits, poisoning symptoms, and inspecting buildings for CO hazards
• Home Heating System Should Be Checked [for proper venting and for CO Carbon Monoxide Hazards - DJF]
• Inspection Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Systems Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Domestic and Commercial Oil Burners, Charles H. Burkhardt, McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 3rd Ed 1969.
• National Fuel Gas Code (Z223.1) $16.00 and National Fuel Gas Code Handbook (Z223.2) $47.00 American Gas Association (A.G.A.), 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209 also available from National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269. Fundamentals of Gas Appliance Venting and Ventilation, 1985, American Gas Association Laboratories, Engineering Services Department. American Gas Association, 1515 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Catalog #XHO585. Reprinted 1989.
• The Steam Book, 1984, Training and Education Department, Fluid Handling Division, ITT [probably out of print, possibly available from several home inspection supply companies] Fuel Oil and Oil Heat Magazine, October 1990, offers an update,
• Principles of Steam Heating, $13.25 includes postage. Fuel oil & Oil Heat Magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004.
• The Lost Art of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, 516-579-3046 FAX
• Principles of Steam Heating, Dan Holohan, technical editor of Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, 389 Passaic Ave., Fairfield, NJ 07004 ($12.+1.25 postage/handling).
• "Residential Steam Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Residential Hydronic (circulating hot water) Heating Systems", Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• "Warm Air Heating Systems". Instructional Technologies Institute, Inc., 145 "D" Grassy Plain St., Bethel, CT 06801 800/227-1663 [home inspection training material] 1987
• Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Volume I, Heating Fundamentals,
• Boilers, Boiler Conversions, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23389-4 (v. 1) Volume II, Oil, Gas, and Coal Burners, Controls, Ducts, Piping, Valves, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23390-7 (v. 2) Volume III, Radiant Heating, Water Heaters, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Heat Pumps, Air Cleaners, James E. Brumbaugh, ISBN 0-672-23383-5 (v. 3) or ISBN 0-672-23380-0 (set) Special Sales Director, Macmillan Publishing Co., 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. Macmillan Publishing Co., NY
• Installation Guide for Residential Hydronic Heating Systems
• Installation Guide #200, The Hydronics Institute, 35 Russo Place, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
• The ABC's of Retention Head Oil Burners, National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, TM 115, National Old Timers' Association of the Energy Industry, PO Box 168, Mineola, NY 11501. (Excellent tips on spotting problems on oil-fired heating equipment. Booklet.)
• ...