Windows made of transparent wood are cooler than glass read more at here http://www.spinonews.com/index.php/component/k2/item/621

Engineers from University of Maryland demonstrate a new study that, windows made of transparent wood could provide more even and consistent natural lighting and better energy efficiency than glass.

The process for making transparent wood starts with bleaching from the wood all of the lignin, which is a component in the wood that makes it both brown and strong. The wood is then soaked in epoxy, which adds strength back in and also makes the wood clearer. The wood can be any size and shape.

Tian Li, the lead author of the study said, the transparent wood lets through just a little bit less light than glass, it sets a less heat. It is very transparent, but it allows a little bit of privacy because it is not completely penetrated. 

The team's findings were derived, from tests on tiny model house with a transparent wood panel. The tests showed that the light was more evenly distributed around a space with a transparent wood roof than a glass roof. It has less breakable than glass because the cell structure inside resists shattering.

The channels in the wood, direct visible light straight through the material, but the cell structure remains bounces the light around just a little bit, a property called haze. This means the light does not shine directly into your eyes, making it more comfortable to look at.

Transparent wood has all the cell structures that comprised the original piece of wood. the channels of the wood drew water and nutrients up from the roots lie along the shortest dimension of the window. The new transparent wood uses these natural channels to guide the sunlight through the wood.

The sun passes over a house with glass windows, the angle at which light shines through the glass changes as the sun moves. With windows or panels made of transparent wood, as the sun moves across the sky, the channels in the wood direct the sunlight in the same way every time.