Mass. ventilation products help keep costs down for homeowners

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If you're a fan of keeping home cooling costs down, a Massachusetts home ventilation equipment manufacturer may be of interest. For more than 30 years, Tamarack Technologies in West Wareham has been building residential cooling systems that are smaller and less expensive than air conditioners.

"So the idea is this is installed in the ceiling of your second floor, on the floor of the attic. And the air is being drawn in through open windows and up into the attic and out of the house," said Tamarack CEO John O'Connell.

In the early 1990s, local entrepreneur Mark Bernfeld bought this once-bankrupt company, turned it around and successfully engineered an insulated and sealed system that provides homeowners with an alternative, cheaper way to cool a home.

"We started this company with the idea that you can bring fresh air into your home and its energy-efficient," said O'Connell.

Tamarack is not only helping keep homeowners cool, but they're also helping local manufacturing jobs stay hot.

"We're in a portion of the state that needs jobs, like manufacturing jobs. There's great people down here and I am committed to Massachusetts and to working in the U.S. whenever we can," said O'Connell.

Even the name is local. Tamarack was named for a species of tree that provided some cooling shade while the owners were brainstorming a name for their new company.