To design facilities for the bulk storage of fruits and vegetables, the designer must estimate both the sensible and latent heat loads produced by the stored commodity. This requires knowledge of the complex interaction between the heat and mass transfer processes which occur within and around commodities. These processes include respiration and transpiration which are exhibited by living organisms such as fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as conduction heat transfer within the commodity, convective heat and mass transfer which occurs between the commodity surface and the surrounding air and evaporative cooling due to the evaporation of moisture at the commodity surface. To aid the designer of bulk storage facilities, a computer algorithm was developed which utilizes a porous media approach to estimate the latent and sensible heat loads due to bulk storage of fruits and vegetables. In addition, the computer algorithm predicts the moisture loss which occurs during storage of the commodity. In order to make the computer algorithm practical, a wide variety of commodities are modeled.