If you own a commercial building in West Texas and someone told you to get an Energy Star certified roof, you were given outdated advice. The label they are picturing no longer exists, and chasing it will cost you time. There are two real programs still standing, and mixing them up is where most owners waste money. This guide separates them and shows you which one your Lubbock, Abilene, or Midland building actually needs.
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Can you still get an Energy Star certified roof?
No. The EPA retired the ENERGY STAR specification for roof products on June 1, 2022, and no roofing product has carried that label since.
For years, roofing materials could earn an ENERGY STAR mark by meeting minimum solar reflectance and thermal emittance levels. Manufacturers printed the logo on membranes, coatings, and shingles, and specifiers leaned on it as shorthand for a cool roof. That era is over. Any product still advertising an “Energy Star roof” today is trading on a designation the government ended.
The EPA’s reasoning was straightforward: commercial building codes had already surpassed what the roof-product label required, which made it redundant. For a Texas owner, the takeaway is simple. Do not shop for an Energy Star roof, because you cannot buy one. Shop for a roof that meets the standards that replaced it.
What replaced Energy Star for roofing products?
The Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) is now the third-party body that rates roofing products for solar reflectance and thermal emittance. Its public directory is what codes and green programs point to today.
The CRRC tests products the same way the old label did, measuring how much sunlight a surface reflects and how efficiently it releases absorbed heat. Every rated product lists both an initial value and a three-year aged value, which matters because reflectance drops as a roof weathers and collects dust and grime.
When a code official, an architect, or an insurer asks whether your roof is a qualifying cool roof, they are looking for a CRRC-rated product that hits the required numbers. That directory replaced the Energy Star product list as the reference standard, and it is the document to cite when you need to prove compliance.
What roof reflectance does Texas commercial code require?
Texas commercial code follows the IECC, which requires low-slope roofs over cooled space in the southern climate zones to reach a three-year aged solar reflectance of 0.55 and a thermal emittance of 0.75, or a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of 64. Those cool roof thresholds are the real bar your roof has to clear.
Most of West Texas sits in IECC Climate Zone 3, where these requirements apply to roofs directly above air-conditioned space. Lubbock, Abilene, and Midland fall in that band. Far northern areas like Amarillo sit in Zone 4, where the prescriptive cool roof mandate is treated differently, so the climate zone your building sits in decides whether the rule is triggered at all.
Here is how the thresholds break down for the zones that cover most Texas commercial roofs.
| Roof type (over cooled space) | Aged solar reflectance | Aged thermal emittance | Or minimum SRI |
| Low-slope (2:12 or flatter) | 0.55 | 0.75 | 64 |
| Steep-slope (steeper than 2:12) | 0.25 | 0.75 | 32 |
Always confirm the exact numbers with your local authority having jurisdiction before you spec a system, because Texas cities adopt and amend the IECC on their own timelines. A reflective single-ply membrane or a light silicone roof coating clears these figures easily, while a standard dark membrane will not.
How does a Texas commercial building earn ENERGY STAR certification?
A building earns ENERGY STAR certification by scoring 75 or higher in EPA’s Portfolio Manager tool, then having that application verified by a licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect.
This is the program people actually mean when they say “Energy Star.” It certifies the whole building, not the roof. You benchmark twelve months of your building’s energy use in Portfolio Manager, which scores you from 1 to 100 against similar buildings nationwide. A 75 puts you in the top quartile for efficiency. Once you hit that, a PE or RA signs off on the data, and EPA awards the certification.
The single most common mistake I see from building owners is thinking a reflective roof alone earns the ENERGY STAR plaque. It does not. The roof is one component; the certification measures total building performance, including HVAC, lighting, and how the space is run. I am Zac Ammons, and I have watched owners spend on a premium roof expecting a certificate that only the whole-building process can deliver. Get the roof right for code and savings, then pursue certification as a separate track if the recognition matters to you.
Does a cool roof actually raise my building’s Energy Star score?
Yes, indirectly. A reflective roof lowers cooling load, which cuts total energy use, and lower energy use is exactly what drives a higher ENERGY STAR score. It helps the number without being the number.
The score reflects your building’s total measured energy against its peers. Because air conditioning is one of the largest loads in a Texas commercial building, shaving cooling demand with a reflective surface moves the needle. It will not carry a poorly run building to 75 on its own, but it is one of the cheaper levers you can pull toward that goal.
If you are already planning work, folding reflectance into the job is smart. Owners who bundle it into broader energy-saving re-roof upgrades tend to see the cooling benefit stack with insulation and drainage improvements rather than paying for reflectance as a standalone line item.
Is a cool roof worth it on a West Texas building?
In West Texas heat and sun, a reflective roof usually pays for itself through lower summer cooling costs, and federal analysis backs that up. A qualifying cool roof saves money when it costs no more than roughly 0.64 dollars per square foot over the less efficient option, with the best products saving materially more.
Out here, the math tilts hard toward reflective. We get punishing summer sun, long cooling seasons, and hail that already forces plenty of reroofs, so the moment a system is coming off is the moment to upgrade the surface. When we spec for West Texas clients, a reflective single-ply TPO membrane is the workhorse, and it holds reflectance well across the years buildings actually keep a roof. For owners weighing systems, it helps to understand how TPO and EPDM compare and how long a TPO roof lasts in Texas before committing.
That said, reflective is not the only path. On the right building, modified bitumen systems with a reflective cap, or an elastomeric roof coating applied over a sound existing roof, hit code reflectance while stretching a tight budget. The right answer depends on your deck, your slope, and how many years of service you need. It is rarely worth tearing off a sound roof purely to raise reflectance, but if you are replacing anyway, reflective is close to a default in this climate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Energy Star roof rebates still exist?
Not under the retired product label, since it no longer exists. Utility and state rebates for cool roofs still exist in many areas, but they now reference CRRC-rated reflectance and emittance values rather than an Energy Star mark.
Does my reroof have to meet cool roof code in West Texas?
It depends on your climate zone and whether the roof sits over air-conditioned space. Most West Texas buildings in Climate Zone 3 trigger the requirement on low-slope cooled areas, but you should confirm with your local building department before you spec anything.
Can a metal roof qualify as a cool roof?
Yes. A metal roof qualifies when its finish carries a CRRC rating that meets the required solar reflectance and thermal emittance, which many factory-applied reflective coatings do.
Is a CRRC rating the same as Energy Star?
No. The CRRC is the independent council that tests and rates roofing products, while the Energy Star roof product label was a separate EPA designation that ended in 2022. Today, CRRC ratings are the standard codes and programs rely on.
Can I market my building as Energy Star certified if only the roof is reflective?
No. ENERGY STAR certification applies to the whole building and requires a verified score of 75 or higher, so a reflective roof by itself does not earn it.
Who has to verify my building for ENERGY STAR certification?
A licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect must verify your Portfolio Manager application before EPA will certify the building. There is no cost to apply, but the professional verification is a required step.
The bottom line for Texas owners
Stop looking for an Energy Star roof, because that label retired in 2022. For the roof itself, spec a CRRC-rated system that meets your climate zone’s reflectance and emittance thresholds, and you will satisfy Texas code while cutting your cooling bills. If you want the recognition, that is a separate whole-building ENERGY STAR certification earned through Portfolio Manager and a licensed verifier, and a reflective roof is one honest step toward the score. Get the roof right first, then decide whether the plaque is worth chasing.
