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Oro Valley is making it easier for new homeowners to go green.

The Town Council amended Oro Valley's building codes to include mandatory solar-ready fixtures in houses and duplexes built after July 17.

The council unanimously agreed that builders must install stub-outs to connect hot water heaters as well as photovoltaic solar panels that convert sunlight to electricity.

At its June 17 meeting, the council also mandated pre-plumbing for graywater harvesting. Graywater systems reuse water from washing machines, sinks, showers and bathtubs in landscape irrigation. The measure goes into effect in June 2010.

It will be optional for homeowners to install both solar energy and graywater systems.

"I'm really excited that we're going in this direction," said Councilwoman Salette Latas.

A representative of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association said the group understands "the big-picture thought process about conservation" behind the town's action. But he questioned the timing.

"We're in the middle of a recession," SAHBA spokesman Roger Yohem said. "And during a recession is really not the time to be adding costs to new-home construction."

Ultimately, the additional costs will be passed on to homeowners, Yohem said. "In it and of itself $300 to $500 is not a huge amount of money when you buy a new home." But when combined with impact fees and other building expenses, the new requirements pose "a burden in the ability to sell a home," Yohem said.

Latas argues that green houses sell better — even in tough economic times.

A solar-ready house "is definitely going to cost you less in the long run to maintain and pay the bills," she said.

The required technologies will make it more affordable for homeowners to add the systems, town planner Bayer Vella said.

It will cost builders less than $500 per house to comply with the new rules, he said.

The cost of installing solar- and water-harvesting systems can vary greatly depending on how much homeowners "want to bite off," Vella said.

Having a solar-ready house could save homeowners who put in a system anywhere from $250 to $500 upfront, he said.

He also noted that homeowners who choose to buy solar systems can receive a variety of tax credits from the state and federal governments.

Oro Valley modeled its ordinances on similar ones that Tucson approved last year.