As others have said, you can't use ambient outdoor heat to power air conditioning, because of thermodynamics. It's possible to use solar heating to directly po

As others have said, you can't use ambient outdoor heat to power air conditioning, because of thermodynamics. It's possible to use solar heating to directly power indoor cooling, without converting to electricity as an intermediate step. My rough understanding is that this is potentially more efficient, but it adds mechanical complexity and loses flexibility (since it only really works in direct sunlight). And it's probably becoming less cost-effective in comparison as PV prices continue to drop.