An adsorption refrigeration system using a compound parabolic concentrator adsorber and an enhanced mass transfer method can improve the system performance. However, different operating modes and different methods of mass transfer enhancement within the system affect the performance heavily. The work compares system performances with four operating modes: three different enhanced mass transfer modes and the natural mass transfer mode. Comparative experiments are conducted under an indoor solar simulator scenario. The different performance parameters were compared, and the results showed that the system performance in all the enhanced mass transfer modes, i.e., mode 1 (one pump with one condenser), mode 2 (one pump with two condensers) and mode 3 (two pumps with two condensers), was higher than that of natural mass transfer mode (no pump with one condenser). The quantity of desorbed refrigerant increased by at least 11.8%, 19.0% and 17.1%, and the coefficient of performance increased by at least 10.0%, 18.4% and 15.8% or enhanced mass transfer modes 1, 2 and 3, respectively, compared with those of the natural mass transfer mode. The results also showed that mode 2 yielded the optimal performance, with the lowest system pressure and highest refrigerant desorption among the three enhanced mass transfer modes. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.