Algo is the AI assistant built into HeatAlgo. It answers questions about the app and about your project, reviews calculations, corrects values in forms, reads building documents and manages projects - always in a conversation, with a receipt for every change. This article describes where Algo is, what it can do in each place, how its modes and limits work and what happens to what you send it.
Where to find Algo
Algo is one assistant in three places - only what sits beside it differs.
- Beside a project. The "Algo AI" button in the top bar opens Algo next to the module you are working in: as a column beside the form on a wide screen, over the whole screen on a narrow one. Algo reads that module's document, can review it and change values in it. Opening another project moves the conversation to that project.
- On its own page. You reach it from the "Algo AI" item in the side menu, from the "Algo" link next to a project in the menu, or with the full-screen button in the column. The conversation history is on the left. Under the question field you pick the project the conversation is about ("Choose a project"); without a project Algo answers general questions only. On this page Algo reads every module of the chosen project, changes values in them on your instruction, and creates, renames and deletes projects.
- From the field on the Start page. The field "Tell Algo what to do in your project..." opens Algo's page with the question already sent. Next to it are ready-made questions, such as "Find what is missing in a project" or "What can you do in heatalgo?".
In the underfloor heating module you open Algo with the icon in the drawing toolbar. There it does not save values - you can ask and request proposals, and the drawing stays in your hands.
What Algo can do
- Answers questions about the app: where a field is, on which step, why something is not visible. It attaches "Go to: ..." buttons that take you to the right screen and step.
- Answers questions about the project: what is in the heat load calculation, what the loss in a room is, what to change to lower the result. It reads the module documents, so you do not have to retype anything.
- Reviews the project. The "Review this project" button (or a question like "what is wrong in this project?") starts a review. The result is a list of things to check with two levels: "Probably wrong" and "Worth a look". You go through each item in the "What was found" panel with "Apply" and "Skip" (or "Apply all" / "Skip all"). On a free account Algo reviews the inputs; it reviews the calculation results once the project is unlocked. If the form changed since the review, Algo says the result is stale and asks you to run it again.
- Changes values. On your instruction ("set n50 to 1.5", "change the bathroom temperature to 24") it writes values into the module. Every save has a receipt in the conversation, "I saved N values", with the list of changes ("What changed") and an "Undo" button.
- Reads documents. You upload a building design, a window schedule, an energy performance certificate or a photo of a nameplate, and Algo proposes values for the form.
- Manages projects: creates a new project, renames one, deletes one (with restore) and puts the project list in the conversation, from which you open the right one.
- Answers questions about regulations and about help for the app, citing sources.
What Algo does not do: it does not calculate heat loss or hydraulics - every calculation is done by HeatAlgo's algorithm. It does not draw underfloor loops or ventilation ducts; you do that on the drawing.
Modes: Propose and Automatic
In the conversation beside a module you pick the working mode:
- "Propose" - Algo marks the proposed values on the form's fields, and you approve each one before it is saved.
- "Automatic" - Algo saves changes right away, without asking. Every save has a receipt with an "Undo" button, which works for 30 days. If the document changed further in the meantime, undoing may be impossible - Algo says so plainly.
Algo's own page runs in automatic mode only. If you had unsaved changes on the form and Algo saved its own, the form refreshes to Algo's version - so save your changes before asking for corrections.
Reading documents
You attach PDF files and JPG, PNG and WEBP photos to the conversation - by dragging them onto Algo's window ("Drop the document here") or from the "Add" menu and "Load a document". You can send up to 5 files and 20 MB in total at once; other file types Algo skips and says so.
After "Read the documents" Algo shows how many values it found and which modules it will fill ("I will fill: heat load, heat pump"), listing rooms separately. Values that would replace something already entered it flags as conflicts and asks about separately. You confirm with "Put into the form" or discard. If the document contains nothing that fits the form, Algo says so plainly instead of guessing.
On the underfloor and ventilation drawings Algo can offer to use an uploaded file as the storey's floor plan ("Use this file as the plan?"); if the storey already has one, it refuses and points you to the drawing settings.
Documents are read in the message you sent them with and are not stored in the service. Only the values you confirm are saved.
Sources under an answer
When a question concerns regulations (e.g. a subsidy programme or the F-gas regulation), help for the app or what changed in HeatAlgo, Algo looks for the answer in our knowledge base: guides and help articles, announcements about news, the changelog, product pages and selected regulations. Under the answer a "Sources" section then appears with cards: "Guide", "Update", "Regulation", "Page" or "Changelog", with the publication date or the legal state date. A card opens the source in a new browser tab.
Algo can be wrong - under the question field you see the reminder "check the source". An answer without source cards is an answer from knowledge of the app or from your project, not from the knowledge base.
Conversations and history
Conversations are kept. On Algo's page the "Conversations" list lets you return to any of them, rename one ("Rename") or delete it; "New conversation" starts an empty one. The same conversation is available in the column beside a project and on the page. If you close the tab before Algo finishes answering, the conversation is paused with a "Continue" button.
The monthly limit
Every account has a monthly allowance for conversations with Algo and project reviews. You see usage in Algo's window as a percentage ("You have used X% of this month's Algo budget"); the counter resets on the first day of the month. Free accounts have the smallest allowance, accounts with a purchased report a larger one, and a subscription the largest. A project review draws on the same allowance as questions - one review uses more than one question, because Algo then reads the whole module document. The larger allowance for a purchased report applies in the month of purchase; from the next month an account without a subscription returns to the free allowance. The allowance alone cannot be topped up - a report or a subscription is what raises it. We do not publish the figure; the allowance is counted in model usage, and you see its state as a percentage.
When the allowance is used up, the conversation stops with "This month's Algo budget has been used up" and cannot be resumed until the start of the month; the "See plan" button leads to a purchase. The form and the calculations work normally - the limit concerns the assistant only.
Wrong answers and other problems
Under every answer there is a "Report a wrong answer" button - the report reaches us together with the conversation and helps improve the assistant. You withdraw a report with "Withdraw the report".
Messages you may see:
- "Algo is temporarily unavailable" or "The AI service is temporarily overloaded" - try again in a moment,
- "The answer took too long and was interrupted" - ask a shorter question or send fewer files,
- "The answer stopped before the end" - everything that arrived is in the conversation; ask about the rest,
- "Algo is currently switched off" - the assistant is temporarily switched off on our side.
What Algo sees and what we keep
Algo sees the content of the modules of the project you are talking about, and what you write. It has no access to other accounts or to billing. What you send to the AI model is described in the Privacy Policy; in Settings you have the switch "Keep technical logs of the assistant", which decides whether we keep the content of requests and the model's reasoning summary for investigating errors - details in the article on settings.