The demand for air conditioning and freshwater is increasing at a rapid pace due to urbanization and climate change. This rising demand is met mainly by using conventional sources of energy, i.e. coal and oil. As these are highly energy-intensive processes, it is imperative to shift towards use of renewable energy sources (such as solar energy). This paper presents the study of solar energy-based hybrid single-effect ammonia-water based vapour absorption refrigeration system (VARS) coupled with humidificationdehumidification (HDH) desalination technique for simultaneous air conditioning and freshwater production. The cooled water picks the heat rejected by the VARS system, and this heated water is used as the feed for the humidifier of the HDH system. A mathematical model is prepared for this hybrid VARS-HDH cycle. Two different configurations (Case I and Case II) for utilization of the heat rejected by the VARS system are considered. The mass flow rate of the distillate produce and the Gain Output Ratio (GOR) of the system have been analyzed in detail, based on variation in parameters such as mass flow rate of water to the inlet of humidifier, mass flow rate of water through the dehumidifier, mass flow rate ratio and temperature of water at the dehumidifier inlet.