A composite adsorbent composed of BaCl2 impregnated into expanded vermiculite has been synthesized and tested in a laboratory scale adsorption chiller. Previous work has established the promising theoretical performance of this adsorbent with ammonia as a refrigerant, in terms of equilibrium uptake, suitable equilibrium temperatures for use in air conditioning applications and good reaction dynamics. Analysis of the adsorption phase revealed a simple exponential approach to equilibrium uptake which was not previously observed in larger scale experiments. It was demonstrated that this material can provide effective operation of the chiller using a low potential heat source (80-90 degrees C) giving COP as high as 0.54 +/- 0.01 and SCP ranging from 300 to 680 W/kg,. The specific cooling power depends strongly on the driving temperature difference and the cycle duration. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.