EcoStar announced that two of its color blends in the Empire Slate and Empire Shake product lines, Drifting Dunes and Sea Salt, have officially become ENERGY STAR qualified roof products.

“We’re excited to offer our customers ENERGY STAR qualified tiles for their steep-slope roofing applications moving forward,” said Edwin Staroba, managing director of EcoStar LLC. “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to offer eco-friendly roofing products that not only keep post-industrial materials from the waste stream, but can also help protect the climate through reduced energy consumption.”

ENERGY STAR qualified roof products reflect more of the sun’s rays which can lower the surface temperature of the roof and reduce the amount of heat transferred into a building. With a cooler temperature inside the structure, there is an opportunity to reduce the amount of air conditioning necessary and can reduce peak cooling demand by up to 15 percent.

Empire Slate and Empire Shake tiles are the second generation of composite roofing tiles manufactured by EcoStar. These tiles use approximately 25 percent recycled post-industrial content to create a synthetic alternative to natural slate and cedar shake roofing.

The approval follows the three-year process to determine the amount of solar reflectance the Empire Slate and Empire Shake roofing tiles provide.