Werner Sun, Artist
Blake is fantastic -- thoughtful, knowledgeable, and easy to communicate with. When our thirty-year-old boiler died, we contacted Blake for a broader look at our HVAC options going forward. He came over right away, and we had a therapeutic conversation about our needs and concerns, both now and in the future. Then, he went over our house with a fine-tooth comb and proceeded to give us a set of right-sized recommendations that we would never have thought of ourselves. Thanks so much for setting us on the right path!
Jeff Luoma
After working with Blake for many months doing home energy audits, I can say he knows his stuff! He is thorough, has the client's best interest in mind, is friendly, and when asked, can offer a teacher's skill to explain the science behind what he sees at your place. He's an excellent person to work with and you will be lucky to work with him.
Matt Redmond
Blake is a motivated action-oriented wiz kid with just a touch of wise ass. (ed: we prefer "spunky.") He clearly cares for our lived-in environment and has been a diligent carbon warrior for quite some time. He performs first-rate energy efficiency sleuthing and I'm proud to call him a fellow energy-efficiency geek.
Sharon
Blake performed an energy audit for my in-laws as they evaluated whether to continue aging in their country home of 25 years. He could easily have sold them services they didn't need. Instead, he pointed out immediate health-and-safety concerns that they could easily address on their own with a few DIY projects and detailed the projects and associated return on investment that would boost comfort and safety if they decided to remain in the house for the long term.
Joel Frank, Contractor
I've brought Blake in as a consultant on difficult jobs. He continues to impress me with his breadth of knowledge, excellent communication skills, and passion for building science. He's been an asset to my business, and I highly recommend his services.
Al
I've known Blake for more than 30 years. I hate Blake. Blake is who I would be if I were smarter, better looking, and a hell of a lot more efficient. But I'm not and his silly business is too far away for me to hire him so I'm stuck doing my energy efficiency upgrades on my own, but as I already said, I'm just not as good at it as he is. Maybe I can find a local contractor who can do some of it but I can pretty much guarantee that they too will not be as smart as Blake and they will probably rip me off. And so, I hate Blake; he's too damn smart, honest, and he's annoyingly located in some dumb town too far away to be useful.
Chris
Terrawatt's Blake Reid owns a deep commitment to doing things right on both micro and macro levels. His desire to do right by the planet from an energy efficiency and environmental responsibility perspective provides the same motivation needed to help individual homeowners achieve their home energy goals. He employs a patient and compassionate approach to understanding the areas needing improvement, and his understanding of all current methods and technologies allows him to make suggestions for meeting those needs that are within the homeowner's budget.
Jackie
Blake is passionate, creative and driven when it comes to making homes more energy efficient, and an expert in the tangle of subsidies and incentives available to homeowners. He's your man when you want to plug all leaks and holes and upgrade to efficient utilities without breaking the bank.
When our water heater died this year, Blake stepped in on a moment's notice and directed us to a high efficiency model that fit our needs. Not only did he save us money and reduce our carbon emissions in the long term, Blake also helped us take advantage of a subsidy that saved us hundreds of dollars on the purchase price. We are thrilled to have him as our ally and will definitely call on him again in the future.
Barbara
Blake is an excellent communicator. He is articulate, clear, present, and caring. He put together an outstanding team of contractors to replace my boiler, and he kept me informed and reassured throughout what was, for me, a very stressful time, given that I am a new homeowner and am spending a considerable amount of money on maintenance and repair.
The job of replacing my boiler rated a high degree of difficulty due to the house design and the nature and placement of the original boiler. Several contractors had bid on the job before I turned to Blake for help in discerning the merits of their proposals.
Blake helped me to understand the consequences of the various decisions that had to be made along the way. I am very grateful for his guidance.
Elizabeth
We worked with Blake as a consultant, providing third party advice on the type of boiler we should install based on our budget, climate, and desire for long term reliability. He was generous and patient with his time, helping us to think through our options and chose the quote from local heating and cooling companies that would best meet our needs as well as advising us on the follow-up questions we should ask. Prior to speaking with Blake, we were concerned that we were being overcharged by local companies, and that we might chose the wrong system and be unhappy with the life of the boiler or its service requirement. Because of his advice, we feel confident that our money will be well spent. Thank you, Blake!
Chad, Hawaiian Paradise Park
The great room in the middle of our house has an 18-foot open-beam ceiling that has always collected more heat than expected, despite the excellent ventilation the room receives. Before consulting with Terrawatt, we installed an attic fan to pull heat from the upper great room into the attic, which would then flow outside through the attic vents. This helped a little but not nearly as much as expected.
We contacted Blake about a month ago. After a short site visit, he identified the problem immediately. Since there was no insulation between the attic walls and the upper half of the great room, some of the heat we had been forcing into the attic was actually making a roundtrip right back into the great room.
Blake recommended proper insulation on the attic walls which made an enormous difference and brought the temperature in the room down significantly. The installation took only a couple of days and was very reasonably priced, especially by Big Island standards.
Blake is friendly, professional, and helpful, despite having to work in the stifling heat of the attic. We would recommend Terrawatt's services to anyone.