Heat of respiration
Short definitionThe heat fruit and vegetables produce for as long as they stay alive in storage. It rises with temperature.
Fruit and vegetables keep respiring after harvest and give off heat as they do. Meat and frozen product have no such load. It is only taken into account in fresh fruit and vegetable rooms.
Heat of respiration is proportional to the total stock in the room, not to the daily intake. So a full fruit store has a continuous load even when no product is coming in.