Picture of Jonathon Pullen

Jonathon Pullen

Technical Services Manager
Gulf Coast District

Adaptive Heat

If you have a 2-stage performance furnace, you have a heat mode called adaptive heat. Adaptive heat can be controlled with a single stage thermostat on a 2 stage performance unit with a call for heat on W1. The furnace control CPU determines what stage (low or high stage heat) is required based on stored previous run time.

adaptive heat
furnace cpu board

The furnace will start with either low or high heat. If the furnace starts in low heat, the CPU will determine the time before switching to high heat. The time is 0-16 minutes. After 16 minutes, high stage will come on and stay on for the remaining of the heat cycle.

This can be very useful if there are not enough thermostat wires for 2 stage heating or a simple single stage thermostat is needed. Having a 2-stage furnace controlled from a single stage thermostat is a handy feature to have.

More to explore

Taking NATE Online

July 8, 2026 No Comments

We have recently begun teaching our NATE classes online using zoom format. This article will hopefully clear up some of

Crossover and Zoning

June 29, 2026 No Comments

Carrier has approved the use of Crossover equipment with zoning applications. The instructions for this will be released in several phases during 2026. Release dates for

Heat Pump

Keep up with the latest HVAC news from Mingledorff’s Inc.