Solar driven air conditioning and refrigeration systems corresponding to various heating source temperatures

Highlights: • Modular silica gel–water adsorption chiller was designed and tested. • Single/double effect LiBr–water absorption chiller was operated and tested. • 1.n effect LiBr–water absorption chiller was proposed, designed and tested. • CaCl₂/AC–ammonia adsorption refrigerator was introduced and tested. • NH₃–H₂O absorption ice maker with better internal heat recovery was introduced. - Abstract: Solar driven air conditioning systems can cope with solar collectors working in a wide range of temperatures. Sorption systems, including absorption and adsorption refrigeration systems, are among the best choices for solar cooling. Five systems including modular silica gel–water adsorption chiller, single/double effect LiBr–water absorption chiller, 1.n effect LiBr–water absorption chiller, CaCl₂/AC (activated carbon)–ammonia adsorption refrigerator, and the water–ammonia absorption ice maker with better internal heat recovery were presented. The above five sorption chillers/refrigerators work under various driven temperatures and fulfill different refrigeration demands. The thermodynamic design and system development of the systems were shown. All these systems have improvements in comparison with existing systems and may offer good options for high efficient solar cooling in the near future.