Improving energy efficiency in pear storage through dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA).

The energy efficiency of ‘Conference’ pear storage was assessed for different storage strategies, including dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA) at different temperatures and controlled atmosphere (CA) at varying temperatures and O2 levels. Storage at -1 ◦C in 3 kPa O2 and 0.7 kPa CO2 was used as a benchmark. Direct respiration measurements during the storage period showed that DCA reduced respiratory heat by 30–40 % compared with the benchmark, even at slightly elevated temperatures. A simulation-based energy assessment revealed that DCA could reduce the total heat load in a storage room by 8–16 %. Fan operation was found to account for the largest share of the total heat load (up to 50 %), while the respiratory heat contributed around 10–30 %. Among all experimental strategies, DCA at -1 ◦C reduced the total heat load by ~8 %, and maintained good firmness and skin colour without inducing internal browning after long-term storage. This makes it the most optimal approach to balance fruit quality and energy savings.