Based on previous experience we noticed that when sky lanterns are used in cold temperature they need less time to fill up with hot air and to be ready to release them free.

Sky lanterns are based on the principle that the fuel cell produces hot air which expands and becomes lighter than cold air. In fact, during the summer months in hot countries (35+ C), the lanterns require longer time to bring the internal temperature of the lantern above the environment temperature.

Have said that, sky lanterns is one of those things that you got to have in a cabinet or cupboard and if the weather allows, you and your participants will have an unforgettable and magical spectacle.

On the other hand, , if the weather is not suitable you will have to postpone to another date to fully enjoy and safely execute the launch of the lanterns.

To safely and securely release sky lanterns, please read the instruction and guidelines on our insert or you can get more information by visiting our Wishing Sky Lanterns page where each sky lantern model is explained in more details about the materials used to build the lanterns and their overall quality.

The optimum weather condition to use sky lanterns is when the wind speed is below 5 mph 8 kmh, low humidity, high pressure and low temperature.

Wind speed: if the wind is too strong, it becomes difficult to keep the lantern steady while it is filling up with hot air. Also, if the wind squashes the lanterns all hot air produced by the fuel cell is expelled from the base and it will need to refill again.

It is preferable that after checking the wind direction find a place protected by a wall, fence or a line of trees and bushes. In this way, you will have the time to get the lantern filled with hot air and once released, it will immediately fly away from the wall or bushes which gave you protection from the wind.

Humidity Level: sky lanterns are made with paper and the fuel cell is calibrated to lift the weight of the paper and the bamboo ring. As soon as the lantern is removed from the plastic packaging, the paper will quickly absorb the humidity from the environment.

If the lanterns becomes heavier because high humidity level, the heat power produced by the burning fuel cell might not have enough power to dry the paper and lift the lanterns to the sky. For this reason, we suggest keeping them in their plastic wrapping till the point of use and good quality sky lanterns have a bag of silica gel to absorb humidity while in storage and till it is used.

Atmospheric Pressure: high pressure is generally associated with clear sky, few clouds, low wind speed and low humidity level, perfect for sky lanterns!

Instead, low pressure brings rain and wind. However, lower is the pressure heavier is the air and therefore the fuel cell requires more heat to lift the same weight.

On the other hand, higher is the atmospheric pressure, cleaner will be the air, consequently the lantern will require less time to fill up with hot air and gently will rise in the sky.

Temperature: as mentioned above, when using sky lanterns in low temperature, the fuel cell will require less time to fill the lantern with hot air. Click here to see a video taken during freezing weather conditions (-18 C).

To conclude, it is important that you use your own judgement to establish if the weather conditions are suitable for sky lanterns. For first time users, we also suggest that some time before the date of your celebration, you could try a couple of sky lanterns on two different evenings to familiarise with the sky lantern and understand the best place where to do the collective launch.

On the day of the event, just before you distribute the lanterns to all participants, it would be better if you do a demonstration to show other first time users how to use it and at the same time you will test the weather conditions.

Last but not least, the overall quality and the materials used to build the sky lanterns have huge differences on the performance and reliability of the product itself.

On our website, each sky lanterns model (Supreme - Premium - Chinese - Traditional) is explained in details with the list of material used to build them.

In brief, as any other product, some are good and others not as good. E.g. if you test drive two cars, like a Lamborghini HURACÁN and a Fiat 500, they both can go from point A to point B, however the performance, comfort and speed of a Fiat simply cannot reach those of a Lamborghini.

We hope the information provided will help you to clarify some doubts which you might had. More importantly, we wish that the information and guidelines will help sky lanterns lovers to make an informed decision on how and when safely to use wishing sky lanterns and securely releasing them in the sky.

Please let us know if you have any other question and we will be happy to help.

#MayAllYourWishesComeTrue
Nightskylanterns.co.uk

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 18th, 2016 at 00:34 AM and is filed under General News.