F.01
Pool hall dehumidification
Largest single load on the leisure sites. Heat-recovery upgrades and tighter setpoint control modelled across all 3 sites.
A 12-week embedded engineering placement at Lewes District Council, covering eight sites across the coast — leisure centres, swimming pools, depots and a Grade II-listed Marine Workshop. Baseline established, the FM team upskilled, funding secured, and a brief that ran long enough to deliver the implementation, not just the report.
Modelled reduction across all 8 sites once the action plan is implemented.
Leisure centres, pools, depots and a Grade II-listed Marine Workshop.
Original brief — extended to deliver capital works alongside the FM team.
A council with the right ambition and a small team needing technical capacity it couldn't justify hiring full-time.
Lewes District Council had a published Net Zero plan for the entire local authority estates including energy-hungry leisure centres with swimming pools but without an in-house energy engineer. The plan was being asked to deliver real reductions, not just intentions.
The brief was for an embedded engineer: someone in the team for 12 weeks, walking every site, building the baseline, finding the funding, and critically upskilling the team to keep going after the placement ended. Not a report-and-leave.
Public-sector finances meant every recommendation had to be paired with a funding route. Salix, PSDS, capital programme the team needed not just 'what to do' but 'where the money's coming from'.
Three pool sites carry 67% of the carbon. CHP, dehumidification & pool covers prioritised biggest reductions, fastest.
The Marine Workshop required fabric solutions compatible with conservation done within consents.
Each measure paired with a funding source: Salix loans, PSDS grants, capital programme no abandoned actions.
Largest single load on the leisure sites. Heat-recovery upgrades and tighter setpoint control modelled across all 3 sites.
Covers were installed but rarely used. Automatic deployment + staff procedure now embedded.
Six of the eight sites had BMS schedules that had drifted out of step with current opening hours. Recommissioning saved 11% portfolio-wide.
Internal insulation & secondary glazing routes worked up for the listed buildings within conservation officer consents.
Each measure tagged with a funding source: Salix, PSDS, capital. £820k secured during the placement.
Seven FM staff trained on energy-management fundamentals they own the next cycle, not us.
Embedded means embedded. Desk in the office, badge on the lanyard, in the FM team meetings. Reports get filed; embedded engineers get things done.
Eight sites in five days with the FM lead. Plant rooms, pool halls, roof voids see it before any spreadsheet opens.
Twelve months of consumption data per site, per fuel. Reconcile with bills. Find the obvious anomalies first.
67% of carbon sat at three pool sites. We didn't pretend otherwise biggest measures got drawn first.
Salix loan applications drafted. PSDS submission supported. Capital programme cases written. £820k secured.
Seven FM staff through energy-management fundamentals. Tracking dashboard in their hands, not ours.
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.
Embedded placements work for councils, trusts, and any organisation that needs technical capacity for a defined window. Tell us your portfolio & goals.