Heat loss through the bottom of a salt gradient solar pond is significant if the bottom of the pond is non-insulated. This loss has an impact on the thermal performance of the solar pond and the solar air conditioning system connected to it. In this paper, a coupled simulation between a transient model of the solar pond and the ground underneath it in MATLAB and of an absorption chiller, air conditioning system and building in TRNSYS is used to investigate the effect of ground conditions on the performance of the complete system. Four factors have been studied for soil underneath the solar pond: moisture content, soil type, sandy soil texture and the depth of the water table. It was found that dry, fine sandy soil with low thermal conductivity is best and that the deeper the water table, the better for system performance.
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