You definitely need an exterior rated fan. That is what I was told when we built our screen porch. I believe the issue is high humidity more than cold temperatures. I suppose if you lived in the desert you get away with a standard fan.

Casablanca makes a couple of nice exterior rated fans. This way you won't need to take it down in the winter.

Marty

Yeah there are a ton of nice ones. One in particular catches my eye but its for interior use. I could probably get away with it BUT if it got wet and quit I'd be angry I threw away $300 :-)

You think I could get away with a damp location fan rather than a wet location fan?

Thanks!

I don't see why not. The fan is up high so shouldn't get wet.

Well yesterday we had a torrential thunderstorm. Knocked down some small tree limbs and we got about 3 inches of rain. Existing fan had some water spots on it but was relatively dry. We've never had a storm that strong in some time so I'm thinking a "damp" fan will be OK.