Functional elements for thermal management of predominantly enclosed spaces

An apparatus for modulating the impact of electromagnetic irradiance on the thermal energy budget of a predominantly enclosed space, which is at least in part exposed to directionally and temporarily varying levels of said primary electromagnetic radiation, comprising:

• a plurality of functional elements configured to be positioned exterior to an outside facing side of an inner shell of a predominantly enclosed space, wherein:
• an outside facing surface of each of said functional elements has higher reflectivity in the visible (VIS) wavelength range and near infrared (NIR) wavelength range relative to the mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength range;
• an inside facing surface of each of said functional elements has higher reflectivity in the NIR wavelength range and MIR wavelength range relative to the VIS wavelength range;
• and
• a thickness of said functional elements is equal to or smaller than a thickness of said inner shell;
• and
• a plurality of support elements configured to mount the plurality of functional elements to an outside facing of the inner shell, the plurality of support elements comprising a size and or thermal conductivity that is smaller relative to the size and or thermal conductivity of the functional element, to reduce thermal conductivity between the functional elements and the inner shell;
• thereby modulating the impact of electromagnetic irradiance on said enclosed space.