At Costco today, I found a solar-powered attic fan for $319. I've been thinking about an attic fan for a while. Solar power solves at least one problem very neatly: no need to run wiring to the thing.

The idea is that your attic can reach 150 degrees, and blowing that hot air out removes that heat blanket, so your living space stays cooler and your air conditioner doesn't have to work as hard.

Supposedly the savings is around $200 a year. So the fan pays for itself in about a year and a half. Not to mention making the house more comfortable.

I'll be paying someone to install it though. I hate roofs. I hate heights and have a peculiar talent for injuring myself. So it's worth it to pay someone else to install it, even if it costs a year or two of the fan's savings to do it.

It's worth it. A savings of $200 a year is significant.