Which rule controls your green home project?

No single rule controls a green home project. For most questions, the controlling authority is
the most specific binding rule issued by the highest body that has jurisdiction over that
question. The general hierarchy runs from enacted statute down to regulation, court opinion,
public utility commission order or tariff, official local code, agency guidance, permit office,
utility tariff and interconnection rules, recorded governing documents, and contract. When two
authorities conflict, the higher rung usually prevails; when they overlap, you usually must
satisfy all of them. Which level actually controls depends on the question you are asking and on
where the property is located.

The authority hierarchy, rung by rung

1. Enacted statute. Congress and state legislatures sit at the top. Federal statutes such as
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act — 16 U.S.C. section 824a-3, on cogeneration and small
power production — set national rules that FERC implements for qualifying facilities. State
statutes govern most property and consumer questions. California Civil Code section 714, for
example, makes any governing-document provision that effectively prohibits or restricts a solar
energy system void and unenforceable. A statute outranks everything below it: a city ordinance,
an HOA rule, or a contract cannot override it.

2. Binding regulation. Federal agencies and state agencies and commissions adopt rules under
statutes. FERC's regulations under PURPA (18 CFR Part 292) cover rates for purchases from
qualifying facilities, interconnection costs, and operating-reliability standards. Texas PUC
rule 25.211 governs interconnection of on-site distributed generation and states that it applies
"except to the extent preempted by federal law" — a regulation explicitly respecting the
hierarchy. Regulations bind like statutes but must stay within the authority the statute grants.

3. Court opinion. When a statute or regulation is ambiguous or challenged, courts decide what
it means. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court held that courts
must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its
statutory authority, and may not defer to an agency's interpretation of a law simply because the
statute is ambiguous. A court decision that interprets a statute controls how that statute is
applied, and a court can invalidate a rule or guidance that exceeds it.

4. PUC order or tariff. State public utility commissions implement state statutes through
orders and through the tariffs they approve for regulated utilities. Texas PUC rule 25.211, for
instance, implements provisions of the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act. A utility's approved
tariff binds the utility in its service territory, but it cannot contradict state statute or
federal law.

5. Official local code. Cities and counties adopt building, electrical, mechanical,
plumbing, zoning, and fire codes that govern how work is constructed. California Civil Code
section 714 itself requires a solar energy system to meet applicable health and safety standards
and requirements imposed by state and local permitting authorities. Local codes control the
method and safety of construction; they do not, by themselves, create or remove the right to
install a system.

6. Agency guidance. Official explanatory material — such as the IRS Home Energy Tax Credits
page describing the Residential Clean Energy Credit, or the California Contractors State License
Board's Solar Smart guidance on solar contracts — describes how an agency reads the law. Under
Loper Bright, guidance does not bind courts, and it cannot create requirements beyond statute or
regulation. In practice it still matters: tax guidance determines credit eligibility, and
licensing-board guidance describes what contractors must put in writing.

7. Permit office. The local office that issues permits and schedules inspections is the
operational face of the local code. Its forms, review timelines, and fees are what you actually
navigate — for example, the City of San Diego Development Services Department's permits and
approvals process. Permit-office practice cannot waive the underlying code, but the permit office
is the authority you deal with for construction approval.

8. Utility tariff and interconnection rules. The utility serving the property publishes
rules for connecting and operating solar, batteries, and other generation, usually in a PUC-
approved tariff. These govern when and how your system may connect and export power. Federal
requirements (PURPA and 18 CFR Part 292) set the floor for qualifying facilities; state rules
such as Texas PUC rule 25.211 specify the application, technical, and operational terms your
utility applies.

9. Recorded governing documents. CC&Rs, bylaws, and HOA rules bind owners by agreement, not
by statute. They sit low in the hierarchy because statutes and court decisions limit what they
may restrict. California Civil Code section 714 voids restrictions that effectively prohibit or
restrict solar; state law may similarly limit what an association may require for other
installations. Check the state statute before assuming a covenant provision controls the
outcome.

10. Contract. The purchase, installation, financing, and warranty agreements you sign govern
price, equipment, performance promises, and dispute processes. CSLB Solar Smart advises reading
the contract before signing and notes that California law requires a financing estimate and
disclosure before enrolling in property-assessed programs. A contract cannot waive statutory
safety, permitting, or consumer-protection requirements.

Which authority controls a given question

Ask three things. First, what kind of question is it — the right to install, the construction
method, the grid connection, the tax treatment, or the payment terms? Second, which bodies have
jurisdiction over that question? Third, is there a binding rule at a higher rung that speaks to
it?

Examples: whether an HOA may deny rooftop solar is decided by statute (California Civil Code
section 714) before any governing document is consulted. How the system must be built is decided
by the local code through the permit office. Whether and how the system connects to the grid is
decided by the utility's tariff and commission rules, within federal requirements. What tax
credit you qualify for is decided by federal tax law as explained in IRS guidance. What you owe
the contractor is decided by the contract, within consumer-protection statutes.

When authorities overlap or conflict

Overlap. Different rungs often govern different parts of the same project, and each must be
satisfied. HOA approval, a building and electrical permit, an inspection, an interconnection
agreement, and a signed contract are separate gates. California Civil Code section 714's approval
rules, for example, do not replace permitting.

Direct conflict. The higher rung wins. A statute beats an ordinance, a regulation, and a
governing document; a court decision that interprets a statute binds agencies and lower courts.
A PUC tariff cannot contradict its enabling statute, and agency guidance cannot contradict a
regulation.

Preemption. In areas of exclusive federal authority, federal law displaces conflicting state
law; wholesale power markets are the classic example. PURPA leaves much retail interconnection
and net metering to the states, which is why state commissions adopt their own rules — and Texas
PUC rule 25.211 expressly yields where federal law preempts it.

Ambiguity. Where the meaning of a statute or regulation is genuinely unclear, courts decide
under Loper Bright; an agency's interpretation is persuasive at most. Where two rules at the same
rung conflict, the later-in-time or more specific provision often controls, but that is a
question worth taking to a qualified professional when it matters.

Facts that could change the answer

• Location. The state, city, and county determine which statutes, commission rules, and codes apply.
• Property type and ownership. Who owns the roof, the parking space, or the common area changes which rules apply; condominium and co-op structures differ from single-family HOA homes.
• System type and size. Interconnection thresholds and eligibility rules can differ for small versus large systems, and for solar versus batteries or EV chargers.
• Utility type. Investor-owned, cooperative, and municipal utilities may be governed by different tariffs and different commission authority.
• Timing. Statutes are amended and tariffs and codes are updated; always check the current text and adoption date.
• Documents you signed or recorded. A recorded easement, a prior approval, or a contract term can change the practical answer even when it cannot override a statute.

Practical decision path

1. Write down the exact question — right to install, construction method, connection, credit, or payment.
2. Find the highest rung with a binding rule that speaks to it: start with the state statute, then commission rules and regulations, then the local code.
3. Check for conflicts: does anything at a lower rung contradict the higher rule?
4. Ask the permit office, the utility, and the HOA in writing which specific rule each applies, and keep the answers.
5. Satisfy every gate that applies — approval, permit, inspection, interconnection, and contract — without assuming one substitutes for another.
6. Before work begins, obtain the written requirement from the local building, electrical, zoning, fire, or utility office and keep the record.

Records to keep

Keep the application and all correspondence with the HOA, permit office, and utility; every
written decision, approval, or denial; the governing documents and written association rules; the
tariff pages or interconnection agreement that apply; the signed contract, required disclosures,
and warranty; and receipts for work, inspections, fees, and equipment (tax-credit filings often
need them). These records are what let you reconstruct which rule applied and when.

When professional advice may help

Consider a qualified attorney before relying on a deemed approval, starting work over an
objection, or arguing that a restriction is void or preempted. A licensed contractor can answer
code and construction questions, your utility can answer interconnection questions, and a tax
professional can confirm credit eligibility. Before work begins, obtain the written requirement from the local building, electrical, zoning, fire, or utility office and keep the record.