In the last few years, thermal comfort research in summer has significantly increased the electricity consumption in buildings. This is mainly due to the use of conventional air conditioning systems operating with mechanical vapor compression. Solar cooling systems appear to be an interesting solution to solve this problem. But the understanding of this technology has to be refined through fundamental studies by developing numerical simulations. Moreover, the study of pilot plants is a practical method to gain experience by analyzing all the processes behind solar cooling technology. This paper presents an experimental study of a solar cooling absorption system implemented in Reunion Island, located in the southern hemisphere near the Capricorn Tropic. The particularity of this project is to achieve an effective cooling of classrooms, by a solar cooling system without any backup systems (hot or cold). The aim of this experimental study is to define the limits of the use of such system under tropical climate conditions without setting a set point temperature. Indoor thermal comfort is achieved by a self-stabilizing operating system that maintains the indoor temperature 6 degrees C below the outdoor temperature. During some critical periods of the year, when the outdoor temperature is very high and when the solar cooling system cannot provide enough refrigerating production, thermal comfort inside the building is achieved by using ceiling fans. Firstly we will present the installation and the choices we made in the control and design process. In the second part, an analysis of the experimental results will be presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.