A continuous adsorption refrigerator, aiming for cold production to a fruit storage room installed in arid regions, is proposed. After cooling load estimation, a technical-economic study of different types of solar collectors was performed. Then, the dynamic performances of a solar-driven two-bed adsorption chiller are studied. Furthermore, this study shows that an optimal choice of the collector-type area and the operating conditions can reduce the global system cost and ensure better energy management. With 43.47 m 2 collectors’ area, a solar fraction of 55% is reached at cycle time (tcycle) 1600s; however, 49% is obtained at tcycle of 900s. With a total collectors’ area of 43.47 m2, a tcycle of 1600s and a cooling water inlet temperature (TCW,in) of 22°C, 60% of the cooling demand is solar produced. However, 57% is achieved at a tcycle of 900s, 50.61 m2 collectors’ area and TCW,in of 25°C. Highlights The cooling load of a storage room used for indigenous fruit preservation was estimated. A technical-economic study of different types of solar collectors is carried out to choose the most suitable one. A detailed dynamic approach to the thermodynamics of a solar adsorption refrigerator according to the time-varying solar radiation intensity and climatic data were presented. The effect of solar collectors’ area and different operating conditions has been studied to optimise the global system performance and cost.