Abstract: The paper proposes an adsorption refrigeration system using silica gel and water as working pair with novel design. In this system, the adsorber, condenser and evaporator are housed in one vacuum chamber, forming an adsorption refrigeration unit. Two such units work alternatively to supply cooling continuously. The construction, parameters of the adsorber, condenser and evaporator and characteristics of the cycle are given.The experimental results demonstrate that the mass recovery process can significantly improve the cooling capacity and COP. The effects of evaporating temperature and cooling water inlet temperature on chiller performance are analyzed.Comparison of the novel system and conventional ones demonstrates that the novel system has a higher performance than the conventional ones with heat recovery process if the problem of cooling loss can be resolved.