It's possible that starting next year, all new commercial buildings and homes constructed in the village will be lit by environmentally friendly light bulbs, also known as LEDs.

Village President Brian LeClercq's goal is to lunge forward with his plan to make Oswego the greenest community in the region, by possibly adding an ordinance about LEDs -- more energy efficient and expensive than other lights -- to the village's building code.

LeClercq introduced this idea at the Mayors and Managers meeting for Kendall County leaders in Oswego last week.

He plans to discuss the possibility with the Village Board soon.

However, at least one local developer has raised concerns about this proposal, which he said would place a burden on architects and builders.

"I think when individual municipalities start passing individual ordinances it ... tends to have inconsistency in the markets," forcing architects and builders to redesign their plans," said Angelo Kleronomos, president of Oswego-based Property Concepts Inc.

Kleronomos admitted that LED light bulbs are "the wave of the future."

But he said, "I'm more for federal or state mandates."

"Statewide," Kleronomos noted, "this will be mandated when the technology is perfected."

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are energy efficient lights, which last 35,000 to 50,000 hours, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

That is about 25 times the lifespan of an incandescent bulb and around five times the lifespan of the environmentally friendly compact fluorescent lights, according to Department of Energy data.

And when the LED light bulbs eventually die, there are no disposal hazards because they do not contain mercury, unlike compact fluorescent lights.

The downside is the cost.

"They're not cheap," LeClercq admitted.

Depending on the type of LED bulb purchased, the cost ranges from about $14 to the mid-hundreds.

On the village level, LeClercq reasoned, "If you change a light every 10 years, versus every one or two years -- It would save a lot of money."

"It's a neat concept," LeClercq said.

But he quickly added that the village does not want to price itself out of the market.

LeClercq hopes to research the idea with village trustees and other Kendall County leaders.

He wants to study initial costs and the likely savings that would be realized by home and business owners.

As he considered the green endeavor, LeClercq admitted, "I don't know if I want to take on the risk."