<p>A hybrid system of multi-effect distillation and vapor absorption refrigeration powered by solar energy is evaluated for continuous, year‑round operation using a thermal storage tank to bridge non‑sunshine hours. Two optimization strategies are assessed: an annual supervisory approach with fixed design parameters and an hourly online approach with parameters updated each hour. The supervisory strategy succeeds only when the storage tank heat output is fixed while the tank water mass is locally adjusted, achieving stable operation but requiring an extremely large storage tank of 58,226 m³. The online strategy achieves excellent performance when the heat taken from the storage tank is fixed, though it introduces aggressive fluctuations in the solar‑field area and tank size. Results show that maintaining a fixed heat supply is essential for reliable operation, and that hourly automatic adjustment of solar‑field area and tank water mass is necessary to meet all performance targets. Desired performance is achieved with only 0.97% production loss, a distillate rate of 11.7&#xa0;kg&#xa0;s⁻¹, a tank temperature kept at 300 °C, a maximum tank size of 500 m³, and uninterrupted refrigeration‑energy supply with no shortages.</p>