This work pertains to the transient modeling and comparative study of active solar thermal space and water heating systems using liquid and air-type solar thermal collectors as the main energy source. The study utilizes TRNSYS to simulate the two systems in the context of Taxila's weather data (located at 33.74°N, 72.83°E), with the goal of meeting peak space and domestic water heating demands of 20 kW and 200 lit/day, respectively. The liquid water-based system (S-1) is primarily composed of a liquid solar collector, thermal storage, an auxiliary heater, connections to the hot water supply, and the space heating load through a water–air heat exchanger. In contrast, the air-based system (S-2), employs a pebble bed storage to store heat extracted from the solar thermal air collector. The heated air is subsequently used directly for space heating and passed through an air–water heat exchanger for water heating. Dynamic simulations of both systems span the entire winter season, and various performance metrics, including solar fraction, primary energy savings, and solar collector thermal efficiency, are computed. The results revealed that at the same collector area, the liquid water-based system (S-1) shows a higher solar fraction than the air-based systems (S-2) while the primary energy savings of the S-1 resulted in lower values than S-2 at smaller collector areas (< ∼30 m2) but surpasses the S-2 with increasing collector size. The optimal collector tilt for both systems is determined to be 50°, while specific storage volumes corresponding to maximum primary energy savings are estimated to be 100 and 40 L/m2 for S-1 and S-2, respectively.

To achieve global sustainability goals, particularly access to clean water and sanitation, requires innovative, off-grid desalination technologies, such as solar stills. Conventional designs do offer solutions, but are limited by low productivity, preventing them from widespread applications. We aim to address this challenge by integrating bio-inspired copper fins, modeled after Maple, Banana, and Willow Leaf geometries, into a square stepped solar still. These fins, fabricated from 1.5 mm copper sheet, were tested against a finless baseline under real-world conditions. Average daily efficiency was tested against a baseline finless still efficiency of 0.2327. All 3 designs showed improvements in efficiency to 0.2807, 0.2997, and 0.3013 for Maple, Willow and Banana respectively with Willow Leaf geometry providing better geometric efficiency as well (84.79%/m²). The use of bio-inspired fins augments heat transfer and evaporation rates, thus increasing the viability of stepped solar stills. This work presents a practical, sustainable solution for the current water security issues and contributes directly to sustainability goal 6, especially for remote and off-grid communities.