In this study, a solar-powered absorption cooling system was modelled using the TRNSYS software. The performance of the system was investigated using dynamic modelling under the weather conditions of Mugla, Trabzon, Izmir, Konya, Canakkale and Istanbul. The external catalog data file of the absorption chiller model was created to get more realistic results. A parametric study was carried out to evaluate the selected parameters' influence on system efficiency. Various parameters such as solar collector type, area, storage tank volume, collector slope, boiler setpoint temperature, room thermostat set point temperature were investigated to see their impact on the performance of the solar-absorption system, in every city. Instead of using a constant boiler setpoint temperature, a novel control strategy is proposed. Besides, the payback period and the levelized cost of cooling of the optimized systems were studied. Results showed that, in terms of financial analysis, Izmir is the most suitable city for solar-based absorption cooling system applications with a payback period of 10.7 years. Trabzon is found to be the least suitable city due to the longest payback period, and the highest levelized cost of cooling among all locations. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.