By Greg Mills

People who live in glass houses .... have a heck of an energy bill. The proposed new Apple store design for Santa Monica, California, will require a waver of energy related building codes as it far exceed the surface area allowed to be glass.

The problem is that in the summer, the new store with a glass roof, will absorb heat from the sun like a giant solar panel. In the winter, the heat will escape through the glass ceiling far faster than with conventional roofing materials.

While there are likely architectural solutions, such as dual pane glass panels and e-coatings that can help prevent energy losses, I would still hate to pay the energy bills for the Santa Monica Apple Store.

Apple is green when it suits them and flagrantly wasteful when something like an all glass building makes a statement. The concept of all glass walls is pretty common in high rise buildings but glass roofs are not so common. The traffic in Apple Stores and the amount of money they generate justify dramatic architectural statements and Apple sometimes waxes dramatic.

That is Greg's Bite for today.