Comparison

Heat Engineer vs Spruce Energy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Heat Engineer

This app assists heating engineers and surveyors in collecting property data for heating system installations. It supports heat loss reports for various technologies and includes tools for sound assessments and quick estimations. Data is automatically saved for later review and amendment.

Highlights
  • Heat loss survey for BS EN 12831, CIBSE, and MCS standards
  • MCS 020 sound assessment for Air Source Heat Pumps
  • Quick heat loss estimator tool
  • Automatic data saving and history for amendments
  • Room-by-room heat loss calculation
  • Photo capture for rooms and installation locations
  • Fuel comparisons and running cost calculations
Features
Read full description

Heat Engineer has been designed to help heating engineers and surveyors gather information about a property for the installation of a heating system. The options available for heat loss reports are renewable technologies such as Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Biomass or conventional fossil fuels. Please visit our website to create an account and watch our training videos. www.heat-engineer.com Heat Engineer Software Ltd is an Industrial Associate Supporter of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering. ----Heat Engineer has three functions ---- 1 - Heat Loss survey, designed to meet BS EN 12831, CIBSE Domestic Heating Design Guide and MCS standards. When the survey is completed you can send it to your account at www.heat-engineer.com 2 - MCS 020 Planning Standards, sound assessment for Air Source Heat Pumps. 3 - A quick heat loss estimator tool. -----Important useful feature---- Every entry made is automatically saved in the app’s history so you can revisit any time to amend either your sound assessment or heat loss survey. For MCS 020 Sound assessments this is particularly useful if you don’t know the sound power decibel rating whilst on site and haven’t yet decided which manufacturer to use. You can use the app on site to record data you have and revisit your history to update the project once you’re back in the office. We now have a LiDAR feature. 1----Heat Loss Survey---- Complete a site survey for a room by room heat loss calculation. The parameters within this app are detailed so calculations can be carried out following the domestic heating design guide and requirements to meet MCS standards. This tool is for collecting details of a property so you can then send it to an online Heat Engineer account. If you are a Heat Engineer account holder at www.heat-engineer.com then you can review your survey and produce a detailed heat loss report. Take photos for each room and installation locations. • Pre-populated drop down lists for room names and options to add custom names. • Pre-populated drop down lists and options to add custom description and U values for all building materials, walls, floors, windows, doors, ceilings and roof. • For ‘complex rooms’, rooms with lofted/vaulted ceilings and roof an option to select which image profile, so measurement and wall types can quickly be entered. • Current Emitter selection, quickly select the radiator profile image from our list and enter the height and length. Heat Engineer online www.heat-engineer.com will calculate the output based on the designed flow temperature in the final report. • Send completed survey to a Heat Engineer account online at www.Heat-Engineer.com • Surveys submitted for the heat loss calculation the ‘internal room design temperatures’ and ‘air changes per hour ‘will be based on the room name and age of the room. Energy kWh demand and running costs is calculated using degree day data. Fuel comparisons are also available. 2----MCS 020 Planning Standards, sound assessment for Air Source Heat Pumps- To ensure a proposed Air Source Heat Pump installation is a ‘permitted development’ for sound conditions use this app if you’re an MCS installer for the handover pack. • Enter any manufacturer and model name • Enter the A weighted sound power (dB) level for the chosen model (you can change this information in the history when you decide which model you want to install) • Enter a description of assessment position • Take and add a photo of the assessment position for your final PDF report • A clear indication of assessment results • Send a two page PDF report of the completed MCS 020 assessment to your office via email 3----Heat Loss Estimator---- This heat loss estimator tool has been designed to provide heating estimations on Power kW and Energy kWh demands for domestic and commercial properties. The tool provides approximations to aid the quotation / tendering process before a project is accepted.

About

Spruce Energy

Features
Read full description

With Spruce, we're building tools to help ambitious heat pump installers run their business without all the pain, hassle, and manual process that they have to deal with at the moment. We believe the only way to seriously accelerate the roll out of heat pumps, let alone hit 600,000 a year by 2028, is to put the needs of heating engineers and installation businesses front and centre. We’re building tools for installers, based on what engineers and business owners tell us are their biggest problems and frustrations. Our Estimate Tool helps handle enquiries – allowing installers to respond in minutes not days, and separating the serious enquiries from the time-wasters. Our Survey & Design Tool then manages the heat loss survey, system design, and report creation. It means everything can be handled in one, seamless system, eliminating the need for manual data transfers and enabling detailed heat loss and design reports to be sent out on the same day as the survey is done. Using Spruce means installers can use their skills, experience and expertise where it really counts: providing great customer service, doing high-quality installations, and building their business.

Screenshots

Heat Engineer4 screens
Spruce Energy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Spruce Energy at none against Heat Engineer's 1. Spruce Energy also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Heat Engineer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Spruce Energy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Heat Engineer ships an update every 2 months, Spruce Energy monthly. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
Heat Engineer versus Spruce Energy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeat EngineerSpruce Energy
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews78.9% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHeat Engineer Software LtdSpruce Energy Limited

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Heat Engineer

One-time1
  • MCS 020 PDF Report Token$2.99
None

Spruce Energy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Heat Engineer free?
Heat Engineer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spruce Energy free?
Spruce Energy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Heat Engineer or Spruce Energy have ads?
Neither Heat Engineer nor Spruce Energy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Heat Engineer or Spruce Energy?
Heat Engineer ships an update every 2 months, and Spruce Energy monthly. Most recently, Heat Engineer was updated on August 5, 2026 and Spruce Energy on September 15, 2026.

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