An Anthropogenic Heat is man-made Heat generated by buildings, people or machinery. Estimates of Anthropogenic Heat generation can be made by totaling all the energy used for heating and cooling, running appliances, transportation, and industrial processes.

Anthropogenic Heat is small in rural areas, becoming larger in dense urban areas. It is not usually large enough to be a significant factor in summertime heat island formation, but has a more significant impact on wintertime heat islands.