Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

A distributed passive monitoring sensing system for air temperature and relative humidity that combines high-efficiency low and intermittent light harvesting photovoltaic cell with low-power LoRa communication is proposed in the manuscript.

The subject is worth investigating and the manuscript may be considered for publication after a revision addressing the following issues.

The main concern is related to the use of the photovoltaic micromodules inside the warehouses where solar energy is not present. Thus, starting from the paper title, “solar energy” use should be reconsidered.

The use of acronyms in the Title must be avoided.

The acronyms must be defined at first occurrence.

The use of lumped references as in [6][7][8], [28][29][30] should be avoided to provide sufficient representation of the main contribution of each referenced paper.

The quality of figure 1 must be improved in terms of readability. There is an inconsistency between the paragraph describing Fig.1 and Fig.1: it is not clear where the LoRa antenna and the core control/communication circuit are located.

The sizes of the grain cartons presented in Fig.1 would be of interest to the readers.

It is not clear what means “a conversion efficiency above 85%”

The quality of figure 2 must be improved in terms of readability.

Fig.4 “Power OUT” is correctly marked?

Lines 223-224: there is an inconsistency between the range of 30%-60% mentioned here and the values plotted in Fig.6 where the values corresponding to 0.01 mA range between 65% and 82%.

The “output efficiency”, “charging efficiency” and the “energy conversion efficiency” used in the paragraph discussing Fig.6 must be defined.

The quality of figure 6 must be improved in terms of readability.

The quality of figures 10 and 11 must be improved in terms of readability. Chinese must be replaced with English, titles and labels must be included on both horizontal and vertical axes.

Figure 12 must be transformed in a Table. The experimental rig must be detailed.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English must be carefully checked for typos, grammar, spelling and syntax (i.e.: “30 °C”, “0.3 °C”, “Mcu”, “Lora” …).

Author Response

Response to Reviewers’ comments for the manuscript:

Paper No.: electronics-4110691

Paper Title: Design of a Distributed LoRa Passive Grain Carton Temperature and Humidity Detection System Based on Solar Energy Harvesting

Corresponding author: ZhiGuo Wang (wangzhg0928@hngytobacco.com), Wen Du (duw0621@hngytobacco.com)

 

 

Reviewer: 1

 

1. The main concern is related to the use of the photovoltaic micromodules inside the warehouses where solar energy is not present. Thus, starting from the paper title, “solar energy” use should be reconsidered.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Using light energy is more accurate, and one of the objectives of this paper is to achieve energy management of light under low indoor lighting conditions.

 

2. The use of acronyms in the Title must be avoided. The acronyms must be defined at first occurrence.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. All acronyms have been removed from the title, and full terms are now used to improve clarity and comply with journal guidelines; In the main text, all acronyms are explicitly defined at their first occurrence (e.g., Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRa)), and only the abbreviated forms are used thereafter; A thorough check of the entire manuscript was performed to minimize unnecessary acronyms and eliminate redundant definitions, thereby improving readability.

 

3. The use of lumped references as in [6][7][8], [28][29][30] should be avoided to provide sufficient representation of the main contribution of each referenced paper.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We agree that lumped references do not sufficiently reflect the specific contribution of each cited work. Therefore, we revised the Introduction to replace clustered citations (e.g., [6][7][8] and [28][29][30]) with narrative citations, where each reference is explicitly linked to its corresponding contribution (e.g., mildew monitoring, mildew early-warning modeling, pest-related storage losses; and representative LoRa-based applications demonstrating long-range/robust communication in practical environments). The reference list remains unchanged, and only the in-text citation presentation and wording were updated.

 

4. The quality of figure 1 must be improved in terms of readability. There is an inconsistency between the paragraph describing Fig.1 and Fig.1: it is not clear where the LoRa antenna and the core control/communication circuit are located.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. The relevant content in Figure 1 has been adjusted and placed in the appropriate paragraph. The position of the module relative to the carton is divided into two parts: externally, only the PV panel is responsible for energy collection, while the energy management, communication, control, and sensor modules are integrated on a small circuit board located inside the carton.

 

5. The sizes of the grain cartons presented in Fig.1 would be of interest to the readers.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Grain carton outer size: 3.0(L)× 1.5 (W)× 1.0(H)m.

 

6. It is not clear what means “a conversion efficiency above 85%”

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Conversion efficiency refers to the efficiency with which the bq25570 converts and transfers electrical energy from the input to the storage end. In this paper, we refer to the bq25570 datasheet to update the efficiency chart to a reference charging efficiency chart under indoor light energy conditions of approximately 100μA input, and we have added verification of charging efficiency in the test section.

 

7. The quality of figure 2 must be improved in terms of readability.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this suggestion and have revised the figure to improve its clarity and visual quality.

 

8. 4 “Power OUT” is correctly marked?

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. In figure 4, this node is actually connected to the VIN input of the regulator U5, used to represent the output of the preceding energy management module or the unregulated power input. To avoid confusion, we have corrected ‘Power_OUT' to ‘VIN' and retained 'VREG3.3V' as the label for the regulated output.

 

9. Lines 223-224: there is an inconsistency between the range of 30%-60% mentioned here and the values plotted in Fig.6 where the values corresponding to 0.01 mA range between 65% and 82%.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We thank the reviewer for identifying this inconsistency. We agree that the efficiency range of 30%–60% reported in Lines 223–224 of the original manuscript is inconsistent with the values shown in Fig. 6, where the efficiency corresponding to an input current of 0.01 mA ranges from approximately 65% to 82%.

After careful review, we found that the originally stated 30%–60% range was a generalized description intended to cover a broader operating region, including lower input voltages and non-optimal operating conditions. In contrast, the 0.01 mA curve in Fig. 6 represents a typical high-efficiency operating regime of the bq25570 under favorable input-voltage and storage-voltage conditions.

 

10. The “output efficiency”, “charging efficiency” and the “energy conversion efficiency” used in the paragraph discussing Fig.6 must be defined.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this comment and have revised the manuscript to explicitly define and unify the efficiency metrics to avoid ambiguity. In the original version, the terms “output efficiency,” “charging efficiency,” and “energy conversion efficiency” were used inconsistently and without strict definitions. In the revised manuscript (Section 3.1, discussion related to Fig. 5/Fig. 6), we have made the following clarifications and modifications: Charging efficiency is now explicitly defined as the ratio of the net stored power at the energy-storage node to the equivalent DC input power from the photovoltaic source , i.e.,

 

where is calculated from the measured voltage increase of the storage capacitor.

In addition, we clarify that the reported efficiency corresponds to a net stored-energy efficiency, which does not explicitly include capacitor leakage, system standby consumption during the measurement interval, or internal operating losses of the bq25570. This limitation is now clearly stated in the experimental discussion.

 

11. The quality of figure 6 must be improved in terms of readability.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this comment and have revised the figure accordingly to enhance its clarity and visual quality.

 

12. The quality of figures 10 and 11 must be improved in terms of readability. Chinese must be replaced with English, titles and labels must be included on both horizontal and vertical axes.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. The relevant images have been optimized.

 

13. Figure 12 must be transformed in a Table. The experimental rig must be detailed.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. Figure 12 shows the sensitivity test for the SHT31 sensor module. It is connected directly to the computer via a USB-to-TTL module and verified directly through a serial assistant, as shown in the figure below. More specific details of the experimental environment are supplemented later in the text.

 

 

14. The English must be carefully checked for typos, grammar, spelling and syntax (i.e.: “30 °C”, “0.3 °C”, “Mcu”, “Lora” …).

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. We fully agree with this suggestion and have carefully revised the entire manuscript.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

General Assessment

The manuscript presents a well-structured and technically sound distributed passive monitoring system integrating solar energy harvesting with low-power LoRa communication for grain-carton warehousing. The topic is relevant to smart agriculture, IoT-based monitoring, and sustainable warehousing, and the proposed solution addresses practical limitations of wired and battery-powered systems.

 Modules

The proposed system is composed of three main modules: a solar energy harvesting and power management module, a temperature–humidity sensing module, and a LoRa communication module. The energy module, based on the bq25570, efficiently harvests and regulates solar energy under low-light conditions. The sensing module uses the SHT31 sensor to ensure accurate and low-power temperature and humidity measurements. The LoRa module enables long-range, low-power wireless data transmission through stacked grain cartons.

Findings 
The study demonstrates that a distributed passive monitoring system combining solar energy harvesting with low-power LoRa communication can reliably operate in grain-carton warehousing environments. The bq25570-based power management achieves efficient energy harvesting under low-light conditions, while the SHT31 sensor provides accurate temperature and humidity measurements. Experimental results confirm stable LoRa transmission through multiple stacked cartons with a communication range of up to 500–800 m. Overall, the system eliminates wiring and battery replacement, enabling scalable and maintenance-free long-term monitoring.

The paper is good, however see the comment:

1-The novelty should be more clearly highlighted in comparison with existing solar-powered LoRa sensing systems.
2-Improve the quality of Figure 2.
3-Give more details on Figure 5. bq25570 Circuit Schematic Diagram 
4-Some references include DOI, others do not, fix this issue.
5-Journal names are sometimes abbreviated and sometimes written in full??
6-Some figures and tables (e.g., Table 1) are insufficiently explained or improperly referenced in the text.

Author Response

1. The novelty should be more clearly highlighted in comparison with existing solar-powered LoRa sensing systems.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. We agree that the novelty of this work should be more explicitly highlighted in comparison with existing solar-powered LoRa sensing systems, and we have revised the manuscript accordingly.

In the revised version, the novelty of the proposed system is clarified and emphasized from the following aspects:

1. Application-scenario novelty: This work specifically targets densely stacked grain cartons in warehouse environments, where severe light occlusion occurs. Unlike most existing solar-powered LoRa sensing systems designed for open or semi-open environments, we propose a separated architecture that combines an external photovoltaic harvester with internally embedded passive sensing and communication tags.
2. System-architecture novelty: By physically decoupling the photovoltaic harvesting unit from the sensing/communication nodes and supplying energy to internal tags via wired connections, the proposed design effectively mitigates the shading and energy scarcity issues caused by carton stacking—an aspect rarely addressed in existing solar-powered LoRa solutions.
3. Energy-management and operating-mechanism novelty: An energy-adaptive operating scheme based on storage-voltage thresholds is implemented using the bq25570 energy-harvesting IC, enabling reliable startup, operation, and shutdown of the tags under low-illumination and μW-level indoor input conditions.
4. Multi-node system-level novelty: A lightweight multi-tag reporting mechanism is introduced to support scalable deployment and stable data acquisition from multiple grain cartons under a single LoRa gateway, enhancing the system’s practical applicability.

These contributions have been more clearly highlighted in the Abstract and Introduction, and the distinctions from existing solar-powered LoRa sensing systems are now explicitly discussed, thereby better emphasizing the novelty and engineering significance of this work.

 

2. Improve the quality of Figure 2.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this suggestion and have revised the figure to improve its clarity and visual quality.

 

3. Give more details on Figure 5. bq25570 Circuit Schematic Diagram

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have expanded and clarified Fig. 5 and its description to improve interpretability and reproducibility. The schematic now includes the values/models of the major external components (e.g., input/output decoupling capacitors, storage capacitor, and the resistor-divider network). The caption/text clarifies that these components program the operating thresholds and output settings (i.e., VBAT_OV, VBAT_OK_PROG, VBAT_OK_HYST, and VOUT). The figure caption and the corresponding paragraph have been expanded to explain the operating sequence: when the storage-node voltage reaches the programmed threshold, power delivery to the load is enabled; when it drops below the lower threshold, power delivery is disabled to prevent over-discharge, enabling energy accumulation and adaptive start/stop under low indoor illumination.

 

4. Some references include DOI, others do not, fix this issue.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have standardized the handling of references: for all entries that actually have a DOI, we have completed them and consistently used the format https://doi.org/... at the end of the entry; for entries without a DOI, we have not added one forcibly, in order to ensure accurate information and consistent formatting.

 

5. Journal names are sometimes abbreviated and sometimes written in full??

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have standardized the format of journal names: all journal names in the full reference list are now written in their full form, no longer mixing abbreviations with full names, thereby ensuring consistency and readability.

 

6. Some figures and tables (e.g., Table 1) are insufficiently explained or improperly referenced in the text.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion.We fully agree with this comment, and we have systematically revised the manuscript to improve figure/table referencing and to provide clearer explanations where needed.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I reviewed the article "Design of a Distributed LoRa Passive Grain Carton Temperature and Humidity Detection System Based on Solar Energy Harvesting" and have the following observations:

- In the abstract, please include the main novelty of this study.

- Figure 2 is of very poor quality; please avoid pixelation and clarify the text.

- Figure 5 needs better explanation; it does not adequately explain how the different components function.

- Figure 6 presents four curves, but they are not analyzed individually, nor are the existing differences discussed.

- Table 1 is not cited in the preceding text, nor is its content explained.

- Figure 14 is not addressed; its content in the different stages of the circuit should be explained.

- In the conclusions, indicate the limitations of this study and the future work that stems from it.

The article may be of interest provided the authors make improvements to their research.

Author Response

Response to Reviewers’ comments for the manuscript:

Paper No.: electronics-4110691

Paper Title: Design of a Distributed LoRa Passive Grain Carton Temperature and Humidity Detection System Based on Solar Energy Harvesting

Corresponding author: ZhiGuo Wang (wangzhg0928@hngytobacco.com), Wen Du (duw0621@hngytobacco.com)

 

 

 

Reviewer: 3

 

1. In the abstract, please include the main novelty of this study.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Compared with existing light-powered LoRa sensing systems, the key novelty lies in a carton-oriented separated architecture an external photovoltaic harvester connected by wiring to internal sensing/communication modules to mitigate stack-induced shading and enable reliable operation for sensors embedded inside densely stacked cartons, together with an occlusion-tolerant multi-tag reporting strategy

 

2. Figure 2 is of very poor quality; please avoid pixelation and clarify the text.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this suggestion and have revised the figure to improve its clarity and visual quality.

 

3. Figure 5 needs better explanation; it does not adequately explain how the different components function.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have expanded and clarified Fig. 5 and its description to improve interpretability and reproducibility. The schematic now includes the values/models of the major external components (e.g., input/output decoupling capacitors, storage capacitor, and the resistor-divider network). The caption/text clarifies that these components program the operating thresholds and output settings (i.e., VBAT_OV, VBAT_OK_PROG, VBAT_OK_HYST, and VOUT). The figure caption and the corresponding paragraph have been expanded to explain the operating sequence: when the storage-node voltage reaches the programmed threshold, power delivery to the load is enabled; when it drops below the lower threshold, power delivery is disabled to prevent over-discharge, enabling energy accumulation and adaptive start/stop under low indoor illumination.

 

4. Figure 6 presents four curves, but they are not analyzed individually, nor are the existing differences discussed.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this comment. To address this issue, the manuscript has been revised as follows:

1. 6 has been replaced with an updated version, in which the curves are more clearly distinguished in terms of labeling, line styles, and resolution;
2. The differences among the curves are discussed in detail, and are attributed to variations in input voltage, storage-node voltage, and the internal power-management and conversion behavior of the bq25570 across different operating regions;
3. It is clarified that Fig. 6 illustrates the typical efficiency characteristics of the chip under different input conditions, rather than a single fixed operating point.

 

5. Table 1 is not cited in the preceding text, nor is its content explained.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion.We fully agree with this comment, and we have systematically revised the manuscript to improve figure/table referencing and to provide clearer explanations where needed.

 

6. Figure 14 is not addressed; its content in the different stages of the circuit should be explained.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion.We agree that the operation of the circuit at different stages shown in Fig. 14 should be clearly explained.

To address this comment, the manuscript has been revised as follows:

1. 14 is now explicitly referenced and introduced in the main text, ensuring that it is properly integrated into the discussion;
2. The different operating stages illustrated in Fig. 14 are explained step by step, including energy harvesting, storage-voltage increase, threshold-based decision making, load power delivery, and power-off/protection stages;
3. The evolution of key circuit signals (e.g., storage-capacitor voltage and output enable status) is described in relation to the operating principles of the bq25570, establishing a clear link between Fig. 14 and the previously discussed threshold configuration and energy-management strategy;
4. The figure caption has been expanded to briefly summarize the meaning of each stage, improving the self-contained readability of Fig. 14.

With these revisions, Fig. 14 is now properly addressed in the manuscript, and the functionality of the circuit at different stages is clearly explained.

 

7. In the conclusions, indicate the limitations of this study and the future work that stems from it.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have added the limitations of this study in the conclusion section and further clarified the directions for future work resulting from them. Specifically, the conclusion now includes an explanation of the current validation scope limitations (for example: testing was mainly based on laboratory/scenario simulation conditions, communication penetration verification focused on three-layer carton stacks, system-level concurrency tests were limited in scale, and the long-term stability in actual warehouse environments still needs further evaluation). Based on this, we have retained and strengthened the plans for future work, including on-site deployment and long-term stability assessment in actual warehouses, optimization of sensing/sleep strategies under energy constraints, and joint optimization of LoRa parameters for different stacking densities and gateway placements.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors presented results for a distributed, battery‑less grain‑carton temperature and humidity monitoring system that integrates solar energy harvesting with low‑power LoRa communication.
Below are comments to improve the paper.

1. Abstract: Please avoid excessive use of acronyms. Spell out key terms on first mention and keep acronyms to a minimum to improve readability.
2. Avoid lumped citation style (e.g., lines 44, 56, 57, 61 and elsewhere). Instead of listing multiple references at once, summarize the specific contribution, findings, or insights of each study and cite them individually.
3. All abbreviations used in the text must be defined at first occurrence (e.g., see line 64). In addition, nomenclature is recommended.
4. Scientific articles generally prefer a neutral/impersonal style; consider reducing the use of “we” in the narrative.
5. Figure 2 (graphics & flow): The graphic quality should be improved. Also, regarding “Drive LoRa transmission”, please clarify what conditions trigger the subsequent path in the flow.
6. Figures 10 & 11 (data presentation): Results should be shown as professionally formatted plots, not screenshots of application windows. Please include axes with units, clear legends, and captions. The current screenshots could be moved to appendices as supplementary material.
7. Figure 12 is not a diagram. Please revise the graphical presentation.
8. Figure 13: present the data as properly formatted figures rather than a photograph/screenshot.
9. The Abstract reports ±1 °C and ±3% RH, whereas later you cite SHT31 typical specs of ±0.3 °C and ±2% RH. Please revise these values.
10. What is your plan for network scaling?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Could be revised.

Author Response

Response to Reviewers’ comments for the manuscript:

Paper No.: electronics-4110691

Paper Title: Design of a Distributed LoRa Passive Grain Carton Temperature and Humidity Detection System Based on Solar Energy Harvesting

Corresponding author: ZhiGuo Wang (wangzhg0928@hngytobacco.com), Wen Du (duw0621@hngytobacco.com)

 

 

 

Reviewer: 4

 

1. Abstract: Please avoid excessive use of acronyms. Spell out key terms on first mention and keep acronyms to a minimum to improve readability.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. We have systematically reviewed and standardized all abbreviations throughout the text: we provide the full form for all key terms when they first appear, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses; for non-key or infrequently used abbreviations, we try to use the full term instead; for frequently used abbreviations, we avoid redefining them after the initial definition and ensure consistency of the same abbreviation throughout the text. In addition, we have streamlined the use of abbreviations in the title and abstract, prioritizing full forms or more intuitive expressions to improve readability.

 

2. Avoid lumped citation style (e.g., lines 44, 56, 57, 61 and elsewhere). Instead of listing multiple references at once, summarize the specific contribution, findings, or insights of each study and cite them individually.

 

REPLY: . Thanks for the suggestion. We have revised the Introduction and related text to avoid lumped citations (e.g., [1][2], [6][7][8], [12][13]). Specifically, we (i) split sentences that previously carried multiple references into clearer, more specific statements; (ii) added brief, contribution-oriented descriptions for the cited studies where applicable, while keeping the original logic and structure; and (iii) cited each reference individually so that readers can directly see which statement is supported by which study. These edits cover the locations highlighted by the reviewer and other similar cases throughout the manuscript.

 

3. All abbreviations used in the text must be defined at first occurrence (e.g., see line 64). In addition, nomenclature is recommended.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have carefully reviewed and standardized all abbreviations throughout the text: all abbreviations are accompanied by their full forms in parentheses when first introduced, and they are not redefined in subsequent mentions.

 

4. Scientific articles generally prefer a neutral/impersonal style; consider reducing the use of “we” in the narrative.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have made uniform adjustments to the narrative style throughout the text, reducing the use of the first-person 'we' and changing it to a more neutral/objective expression suitable for academic writing, while also avoiding excessive passivity that could make sentences lengthy. The relevant modifications cover multiple sections, including the abstract, introduction, experiments, and conclusions.

 

5. Figure 2 (graphics & flow): The graphic quality should be improved. Also, regarding “Drive LoRa transmission”, please clarify what conditions trigger the subsequent path in the flow.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We fully agree with this suggestion and have revised the figure to improve its clarity and visual quality. After the LoRa module sends data, the entire module enters sleep mode. The module's internal software sets a timer alarm to wake up the MCU at a specific time and start a new round of data collection and transmission.

 

6. Figures 10 & 11 (data presentation): Results should be shown as professionally formatted plots, not screenshots of application windows. Please include axes with units, clear legends, and captions. The current screenshots could be moved to appendices as supplementary material.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. The relevant images have been optimized.

 

7. Figure 12 is not a diagram. Please revise the graphical presentation.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Figure 12 has been compiled into a table format for clearer visualization.

 

8. Figure 13: present the data as properly formatted figures rather than a photograph/screenshot.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. The figure was originally presented as a screenshot/photo from the instrument, which lacked readability and standardized formatting. We have redrawn the figure: based on the original measurement data, it has been recreated as a standard scientific graph, with uniform settings for axis names, units, scales, font sizes, and figure legends; at the same time, key test conditions have been added to the legend to make the figure clearer and more readable.

 

9. The Abstract reports ±1 °C and ±3% RH, whereas later you cite SHT31 typical specs of ±0.3 °C and ±2% RH. Please revise these values.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. We have standardized, clarified, and revised all statements related to 'measurement accuracy/error' throughout the text.

 

10. What is your plan for network scaling?

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. Our network scaling plan is to (i) deploy multiple gateways for zone-based coverage in large warehouses; (ii) retain the lightweight protocol with hierarchical identifiers (gateway/tag/channel) and CRC to support dense tag management and reliable parsing; and (iii) jointly tune LoRa parameters (SF/BW/CR/Tx power) for specific warehousing conditions (stack height, carton density, and gateway placement) to reduce airtime/collisions and improve capacity and energy efficiency. Future work will include larger-scale, multi-tag validation in real warehouses.

 

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have implemented substantial revisions addressing the previous comments. The manuscript has been technically strengthened in response to the previous concerns and may be accepted after addressing the following remaining issues.

Line 112: „[Error! Reference source not found.]” must be corrected.

Lines 180-181: it would be better to reformulate to „Power management is implemented using the bq25570 having a conversion efficiency above 60%, which ...” to avoid the confusion that the PV has a conversion efficiency of 60%.

Author Response

1. Line 112: „[Error! Reference source not found.]” must be corrected.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. In the revised manuscript, the cross-reference error at Line 112 (“[Error! Reference source not found.]”) has been corrected by reinserting the proper reference link. In addition, we systematically checked the entire manuscript and confirmed that no similar cross-reference or bookmark errors remain.

 

2. Lines 180-181: it would be better to reformulate to „Power management is implemented using the bq25570 having a conversion efficiency above 60%, which ...” to avoid the confusion that the PV has a conversion efficiency of 60%.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We agree that the original wording could be misinterpreted as referring to the photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency. We have therefore reformulated Lines 180–181 to explicitly state that the “>60% conversion efficiency” refers to the bq25570 power-management/charging conversion efficiency, not the PV panel. The revised sentence follows the reviewer’s suggestion (“Power management is implemented using the bq25570 having a conversion efficiency above 60%, which …”) and clarifies that MPPT is used to regulate the PV operating point, thereby eliminating ambiguity.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

A new review of the article entitled "Design of a Distributed Long Range Wide Area Network Passive Grain Carton Temperature and Humidity Detection System Based on Light Energy Harvesting" was carried out, the requested changes have been adequately addressed, so I suggest its publication.

Author Response

Thank you for the suggestion.

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have improved the manuscript, but a few comments remain:

• The figure titles should be reviewed. For example, Figure 15 is titled “System Integration Test Diagram”, although Figure 15 actually illustrates the experimental setup.
• The formulas do not need to be enclosed in frames.
• It is unclear whether the program provides numerical results.
• The authors should review the length requirements for the abstract

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Could be revised.

Author Response

1. The figure titles should be reviewed. For example, Figure 15 is titled “System Integration Test Diagram”, although Figure 15 actually illustrates the experimental setup.

 

REPLY: . Thank you for your suggestion. We agree and have reviewed the figure captions throughout the manuscript. In particular, Fig. 15 was originally titled “System Integration Test Diagram,” while it actually shows the experimental setup. We have therefore revised the title to “Experimental setup for the system integration test” (or equivalent wording) to ensure consistency between the caption and the figure content and to improve clarity.

 

2. The formulas do not need to be enclosed in frames.

 

REPLY: . Thanks for the suggestion. We thank the reviewer for this suggestion. We agree that the equations do not need to be enclosed in frames. In the revised manuscript, we removed the borders/frames around all equations and formatted them as standard display equations while keeping the original equation numbering and alignment, thereby improving consistency with common journal typesetting conventions.

 

3. It is unclear whether the program provides numerical results.

 

REPLY: . The program does provide numerical results. Figure 1(a) shows the experimental setup for the system integration test. Enlarged view is the gateway terminal print data diagram shown in Figure 1(b). For debugging and verification, after receiving LoRa frames from the slave tags, the ESP32 gateway parses the payload and prints both the raw received frame (in hexadecimal) and the decoded numerical values, including tag ID, temperature (°C), and humidity (%RH). Therefore, the program not only indicates communication status but also outputs numerical measurement results for evaluation.

        

Figure 1(a): Experimental setup for the system integration test.        Figure 1(b): Terminal Display Diagram.

 

4. The authors should review the length requirements for the abstract

 

REPLY: . Thank you for the suggestion. We have re-checked the journal’s abstract length requirements and shortened the Abstract in the revised manuscript to comply with the specified limit. During this revision, we retained the essential background, methodology, key results, and novelty, while removing redundant statements and overly detailed technical descriptions. Several sentences were also consolidated to improve conciseness and readability.