Did I just dodge an expensive bullet?

[IrishAyes]

7. My concern is only about a possible solar powered attic ventilator,

not the whole house attic fan. And unfortunately I cannot report a contractor because there was none for the whole house attic fan! It took me a couple years of (semi-excellent) searching to even find one that would fit the narrow upstairs hallway in this 100-yr-old house. (Funny; the rooms are all 15x15 or more but the stairway and upstairs hallway are narrow as cattle chutes! The single model whole house attic fan I found came ONLY with a pull chain. Well, at least it's more design compatible!

It's the prospect of adding a solar powered attic ventilator at the soffit and the warnings I read in the trades about how it would supposedly draw up refrigerated air during AC season and send the treated air back outside. But since first posting, I've thought about how well I can shut off the upstairs anyway, as I always do during extreme temps either way. The stairway can be closed off at the bottom AND top of the stairs. So I probably don't need to worry about a net financial loss in my situation when the AC runs down there. I don't use the upstairs at all when heating or cooling.

And since I can't afford the services of an electrician to install a solar attic ventilator with some kind of convenient downstairs kill switch, if indeed any such solar one exists, I'll have to take my chances with the simple kind that doesn't even require wiring, just someone nimble and crazy enough to climb up on the alpine roof.

I really appreciate people helping me think this through. I've learned the advisability of asking advice, because things are pointed out that never occurred to me. Thanks.