If every home replaced just three of its light bulbs with energy-efficient ones, we would save enough energy to power all the streetlights in the UK...

CLIMATE change, it seems, is a fact of life. It only takes a quick glance out of the window to confirm what scientists have been saying for some time.

Spring is starting earlier - winters are getting both warmer and wetter, not to mention the flooding which is becoming a regular seasonal event, especially in Yorkshire but also in the south of England.

Energy Efficiency Week, now in its seventh year, is aimed at encouraging and educating people to become more energy efficient. Do that and you'll help to stem climate change. But what can we do about it?

According to Hannah Bird, a senior energy adviser with the Southampton based environment Centre, being energy efficient means reducing the energy wasted by homes and household appliances.

The result of this is that less energy is required from power stations, and so reducing their damaging emissions.

One-quarter of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions every year originate from the energy we use to heat and light our homes and run an increasing number of household appliances, explained Hannah.

She added: "This year we are trying to get the message across to people that 'it's criminal to let your house get away with it'.

"It's not just businesses that damage the environment.

"If your home is behaving badly then it's having a direct impact too.

"When the power stations that supply us with our electricity burn fossil fuels, they pump out gases into the atmosphere which cause the Earth to heat up like a greenhouse.

"This process is often referred to as global warming and is having a worrying impact on our environment."

According to Hannah, identifying the energy wasters in your home can have a direct effect on our environment as well as saving you money.

Britons spend £2.4 billion a year on running appliances and heating homes. More carbon dioxide is produced running an average home than running an average car.

By reducing energy used in the home, society can lower the manmade greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere that affect the climate.

Hannah pointed out that if everyone owning a chest freezer in the United Kingdom switched to an A-rated appliance (which are highly energy efficient), the energy saved would run the country's street lighting for more than a year.

Energy Efficiency Week aims to show householders that with more energy efficiency measures, each home could slash the annual amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by six tonnes to four tonnes.

Not only would this cut the effects of climate change, it would save £5 billion - enough to pay everyone in the UK £84.

"Making changes to your home can really make a difference," Hannah added.

"If every home replaced only three of its lightbulbs with energy- efficient ones, we would save enough energy to power all the streetlights in the UK.

"Your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC) is here to help.

"These advice centres are backed by the government and provide free, impartial advice by calling the freephone number - 0800 512 013.

"They can also advise on the grants and discounts available to all homeowners to stop homes from wasting both energy and money.

"So don't let your home get away with it this winter - call your local EEAC to find out where to start."