Embedded energy management support for Lewes DC

Strengthening Lewes District Council’s in-house energy and sustainability capacity

Clear Futures provided dedicated energy engineering expertise and additional capacity within Lewes District Council’s (LDC) sustainability and property teams. This embedded support identified opportunities to better manage energy use and improve efficiency across the Council’s property portfolio, contributing to long-term decarbonisation and cost savings.

The challenge: capacity gaps in energy management

LDC is a long-term strategic partner of Clear Futures and is working towards an ambitious net zero 2030 target. The council recognised that, while the goal was clear, there was limited in-house capacity and technical expertise to focus on energy performance across its non-domestic estate and future plans for EV charging.

Without dedicated support, it was difficult to turn high-level ambition into a practical programme of energy optimisation, generation and investment. To bridge this gap, Clear Futures funded a part-time embedded energy engineer over 12 weeks, providing focused expertise on opportunities ranging from better controls and behaviour change through to asset replacement and renewables.

This work followed a structured five-stage approach – Comply, Systemise, Economise, Optimise, Decarbonise – ensuring that immediate improvements and longer-term decarbonisation plans could be developed in a joined-up way.​

Tackling data and skills gaps

Like many organisations, LDC faced issues with data accessibility, availability and accuracy, making it hard to build a clear picture of energy use across its estate. The embedded energy engineer focused on pulling together a reliable data set to inform ideas and shape practical energy conservation measures.

There was also a skills and capacity gap. While council staff were committed to managing energy assets, specialist energy management knowledge and clear ownership were limited. Regular on-site support helped to spot opportunities quickly and address simple control issues that were driving unnecessary energy use.

Five steps to energy efficiency

Working in partnership, Clear Futures followed a structured five-stage approach to improve energy management and shape a clear decarbonisation pathway across the estate. This provided a simple framework for moving from compliance through to long-term low carbon investment.

Comply – the first stage focused on understanding the Council’s current position by reviewing EPC and DEC information to confirm compliance and establish a robust baseline. This gave LDC confidence in its starting point before exploring further opportunities.

Systemise – this second stage concentrated on portfolio-wide data analysis and high-level categorisation of buildings. This included centralising and updating energy and asset data, mapping interdependencies, and identifying potential blockers to achieving net zero. The embedded engineer also supported the early development of a decision-making tool to guide low carbon choices and improve climate and nature outcomes.

Economise – attention shifted to shaping a low carbon investment programme. This involved developing initial adaptation and development strategies for selected council buildings, creating concept designs and outlining an estate-wide programme of works linked to appropriate funding routes.

Optimise and Decarbonise stages – these saw the work begin to translate into deliverable projects. The team started to define “spend to save” energy efficiency projects, outline delivery routes and partners, and explore options for strategic low carbon investments that will help LDC meet its 2030 net zero ambitions over time.

33% potential energy savings identified

Clear Futures embedded support pinpointed quick-win actions to cut energy use and costs through better controls, staff education, and targeted technological upgrades across Lewes District Council’s estate.​

The project identified practical energy conservation measures that could deliver up to a third reduction in energy consumption and operational spend – spanning improved building controls to on-site generation.​

These recommendations also align with LDC’s long-term decarbonisation goals, including fossil fuel heating replacement during asset lifecycles. Funding pathways were outlined too, from internal budgets to third-party investment options, ensuring viable delivery even without major grants.​

Summary of energy savings opportunities and solutions identified

Swimming Pool Equipment:

• Finding: the current plant for the pools do not enable to alternate the flow of water and the relevant energy demand due to bather volumes.
• Solution: Install a water quality monitoring system and plant management system to altern the water flows and energy demands according to bather volumes

Lighting:

• Finding: there is a variation of LED, fluorescent, movement and PIR sensors
• Solution: where required upgrade fluorescent units to LED and where applicable fit wither movement and/or PIR sensors to minimise the reliance on light switches

Building Management Systems (BMS):

• Finding:  there are various mechanical cooling, heating and ventilation systems across the leisure centres and the Marine Workshops. In all cases, the systems settings or performance cannot be visualised centrally and directly.
• Solution: where a central BMS system is available, then the solution is to connect to a centra portal, and where there are multiple systems, the solution is to connect such systems into a single dashboard, to ideally, provide the ability to control centrally, but as a minimum requirement, provide their consumption and performance to be centrally accessible.

Solar PV

• Finding: sites with new or additional roof space which can be utilised for the installation of a PV system
• Solution: where possible install a PV system directly onto exsiting roof space, but where required, carry out upgrades to the relevant roof space to enable the installation of PVs.

Having a dedicated person, local to the council, with the energy engineering skills and knowledge to identify and articulate how best to achieve our ambitions to reduce operational costs whilst achieving our broader environmental policy objectives, has been fabulous. We now have a better understanding of what is achievable in the short and medium term, as well as options for how we could commercialise projects needing investment.
– Kate Richardson, Sustainability Lead, Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council