Final answer:
The cold anticipator is wired in series with the mercury bulb cooling contacts in a thermostat to prevent temperature overshoot by compensating for system response latency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The cold anticipator in a thermostat is wired in series with the mercury bulb cooling contacts and is designed to be energized during the off cycle. Its role is to improve the accuracy of the thermostat by slightly warming up, which leads to the air conditioner to turn on a little before the space actually reaches the set temperature. This helps to prevent the temperature from overshooting the set point by compensating for the latency in the system’s response.