An adsorption based system is provided for the selective cooling and heating of a vehicle compartment using by-product water collected from a power generating unit of a vehicle. The system may include a fuel cell stack and an exhaust conduit configured to transfer an exhaust stream from the fuel cell stack. A water reservoir stores by-product water collected from the exhaust stream. The system may include a coolant loop configured to circulate a coolant fluid. A detachable adsorption subsystem is in thermal communication with the coolant loop and the exhaust conduit, and may include an evaporator and an adsorbent bed. The adsorption subsystem is configured to: vaporize water from the water reservoir using the evaporator; adsorb the vaporized water, thereby cooling a portion of the coolant fluid; regenerate the adsorbent bed using heat from the exhaust stream to release water vapor; and direct the water vapor into the exhaust conduit.