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how should you determine the heat anticipator

by Sherman Torphy Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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What Should Be the Heat Anticipator Settings on a Room Thermostat?

  1. Use the manufacturer's recommended thermostat heat anticipator settings based on printed control circuit data. ...
  2. Set the heat anticipator according to the Type of Heating System ...
  3. Actually measure the thermostat circuit's current and set the heat anticipator to match that level. ...

Locate the Heat Anticipator
Look for the small disc with calibration marks located at the center of the thermostat. It will probably have the word "LONGER" or "LONGER CYCLES" printed on it. It will also have a lever arm and indicator relating to the calibration marks. This is the heat anticipator adjustment lever arm.
Aug 4, 2021

Full Answer

How do I set the heat anticipator settings on my thermostat?

Use the manufacturer's recommended thermostat heat anticipator settings based on printed control circuit data. The heat anticipator Amps setting should be set to match the current (Amp) rating stamped on the name plate of the primary control that the thermostat is controlling.

What is a heat anticipator?

A heat anticipator is an electrical resistor device mounted in the center of many mechanical thermostats. It fine tunes the point at which the thermostat turns off the furnace burners.

How many amps should a heat anticipator be?

A typical heat anticipator scale runs beetween a low of 0.10 Amps and a high of about 1.2 Amps. Higher heat anticipator settings: according to the manufacturer, a higher heat anticipator setting will result in less self heating of the thermostat, longer burner on-cycles, and possible overshoot of the room temperature.

What is the range of adjustment of a typical Honeywell heat anticipator?

where we note that the range of adjustment of a typical Honeywell heat anticipator was between 1.2A and 0.10A. The current powering most heating system thermostats is 24VAC.

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How is the setting of the heat anticipator determined?

Use the manufacturer's recommended thermostat heat anticipator settings based on printed control circuit data. The heat anticipator Amps setting should be set to match the current (Amp) rating stamped on the name plate of the primary control that the thermostat is controlling.

Where would you find a heat anticipator?

A heat anticipator, found inside some room thermostats, and usually near the bimetallic spring is itself a tiny electric heater - a wire that gets warm.

What is a heat anticipator on a Honeywell thermostat?

The heat anticipator is an electrical resistance heater that provides a tiny source of extra heat right inside the wall thermostat of some older room thermostats like the Honeywell T87 bimetallic spring mercury bulb model.

Where can the amperage reading be found to set the thermostat heat anticipator?

Adjust the anticipator to match the current rating of [the] primary control. Rating is usually stamped on the control plate.

What is an anticipator?

anticipator (plural anticipators) One who anticipates. A device in a thermostat that determines when to turn on or shut off the heating or cooling mechanism.

Is there a heat anticipator in a digital thermostat?

Digital thermostats do not use an anticipator setting. Amperage (current draw) based anticipator settings and anticipator setting references often found on appliances only apply to older style mechanical thermostats.

What does longer cycles mean on a thermostat?

The standard for electric heat is nine cycles per hour. The longer it takes the system to emit all its heat, the longer a cycle should be. Of course the longer the cycles, the fewer there are in an hour. Cycle rate adjustment with electronic thermostats is very simple.

What does a cold anticipator do?

What does a cold anticipator do? A cooling anticipator causes the thermostat to start the air Conditioning compressor early so that it will be up to capacity at the correct time.

How do you adjust a Honeywell thermostat?

If you have a manual thermostat, setting the temperature on your Honeywell thermostat is simple. All you need to do is to press the up and down buttons to set the temperature. The temperature you set will stay until you change the temperature again.

What do the numbers on a thermostat mean?

The top number shows the current “set” temperature, or what your thermostat has been set to by you or someone else (such as an automatic setting). The bottom number indicates the actual room's ambient air temperature. To change your heating and cooling settings, use the arrows on the display.

How long does it take for a thermostat to adjust?

The average home needs approximately 1 hour to warm up from 60 degrees to 70 degrees, so you should adjust your program accordingly.

Where does the R terminal of a thermostat connect to?

The R terminal of the low-voltage transformer is connected through the thermostat to each control relay. The thermostat controls the operation of the heater, compressor and blower as shown in Figure 1.

What is the anticipator in a furnace?

The function of the heat anticipator is to fine-tune the point at which the thermostat turns off the furnace burners. Ideally, it turns the furnace's burners off a short time before the room reaches the desired temperature.

Where is the thermostat usually located?

The best place for your thermostat is on an interior wall, away from all the areas we previously discussed (direct sunlight, air vents, your kitchen, hallways, windows and doors). Ideally, it should be placed toward the center of your home.

What is the purpose of a cooling anticipator?

COOLING ANTICIPATOR – A resistance heater (usually not adjustable) in parallel with the cooling circuit. It is 'on' when the current is 'off”, adding heat to shorten the off cycle.

How should you determine the heat anticipator setting on a room thermostat using a package sequencer?

How is the setting for the heat anticipator determined? It is determined by adding all the current draw in the 24V heating circuit that passes through the thermostat control and heat anticipator.

What is initial setting on a heat anticipator?

The initial settings are intended simply to make sure that we don't send too much or too little current (amps) through the little heating coil or wire that comprises the heat anticipator.

What is the purpose of a 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.

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

If your heating system seems to be working OK, without excessive burner on-off cycling and without troubling room temperature overshoot, leave the heat anticipator alone.

What is the shortest burner on time?

Lower numbers on the Amps scale give a shorter heat-on cycle. The shortest burner-on time will be when the heat anticipator puts out the most heat. This warms up the thermostat's room temperature sensor and therefore tells the thermostat the room is up to set temperature earliest.

What does Adjusting the Anticipator do?

Adjusting the anticipator up or down to higher or lower Amps numbers will lengthen or shorten the heat-on or cooling-on cycle.

Why is a heat anticipator important?

Properly adjusted a heat anticipator also prevents the room from getting warmer than the thermostat set temperature, and it prevents the heat from shutting off before the room has reached the thermostat set temperature.

What does the arrow on the Amps scale mean?

Honeywell's word LONGER and arrow pointing towards higher numbers on the Amps scale tells us that moving the pointed to the left to a higher number should give LONGER HEAT ON time or LESS heat heating of the heat anticipator.

What is a heat anticipator?

A heat anticipator is an electrical resistor device mounted in the center of many older mechanical thermostats, including the familiar Honeywell dial-type thermostat. The function of the heat anticipator is to fine-tune the point at which the thermostat turns off the furnace burners. Ideally, it turns the furnace's burners off a short time ...

Where is the calibration disc on a thermostat?

Look for the small disc with calibration marks located at the center of the thermostat . It will probably have the word "LONGER" or "LONGER CYCLES" printed on it. It will also have a lever arm and indicator relating to the calibration marks. This is the heat anticipator adjustment lever arm.

How to adjust thermostat level?

Adjustments can be made fairly easily by loosening the mounting screws, rotating the thermostat body to the desired position, and then retightening the mounting screws when your level indicates that it is aligned.

Why does my furnace turn on and off?

When the heat anticipator in your thermostat is out of adjustment, it can cause the furnace to "short-cycle" (turn on and off frequently) or to exceed or never reach the desired thermostat heat setting. Fortunately, this problem is often easy to correct by adjusting the heat anticipator.

How long does it take for a furnace thermostat to work?

Test the Thermostat. Once the appropriate adjustment is made, let the furnace run and the temperature stabilize for a period of two to three hours. If necessary, repeat the above procedure until the thermostat works properly.

How does a disc heater work?

The disc has a thin wire on its surface and an adjustment arm that touches the wire. The position of the arm determines the electrical resistance of the wire, which in turn affects how hot the wire gets. As the wire heats up, it warms the bimetallic coil, which in turn shuts down the gas burners early, according to the heat anticipator's setting.

Do you need a heat anticipator for a mechanical thermostat?

Electronic thermostats are so precise that there is no need for a heat anticipator.

What is a heat anticipator?

The heat anticipator, not found on all thermostats, is a tiny little electric heater that will , depending on its setting, warm up the inside of the themostat, thus warming the thermostat's room temperature sensor, thus fooling the thermostat into thinking the room is a little warmer than it actually is.

Where is the heat anticipator located?

A heat anticipator, found inside some room thermostats, and usually near the bimetallic spring is itself a tiny electric heater - a wire that gets warm.

What is a Thermostat Heat Anticipator & How Does it Work?

Many room thermostats use a flat bi-metallic spring shaped into a coil that responds to changes in room temperature by moving a mercury switch (older units) that turns the buildings heating system on and off.

How does moving a heat anticipator work?

Moving the heat anticipator pointer (the open triangle at the top of the copper arm) changes the effective wire length and thus the electrical resistance and thus the heat output of the heat anticipator inside the thermostat.

What does the blue arrow mean on a heat anticipator?

When we move the heat anticipator adjusting arm we are moving an electrical contact (blue arrow) along the flat-wound resistor wire, effectively increasing (to the higher current numbers on the left) or decreasing (to the lower current numbers on the right) the amps or current flow through this tiny heating device by lengthening or shortening the total length of wire included in the heater circuit.

How many amps is the heat anticipator?

Below: the heat anticipator pointer has been moved down towards the right end of the scale, and is set to about 0.15 Amps.

Why stop the call for heat a little early?

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.

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