With buildings responsible for 40% of the global energy-related carbon emissions, Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd are passionate about accelerating the shift towards smart sustainable buildings to efficiently use resources to create a safe and comfortable environment for occupants. Their team has deep expertise in the design and deployment of systems for: 

• Indoor environmental monitoring and control – Secure, wireless, sensor platforms. Smart heating and cooling controls. Air quality and energy cost optimisation. 

• Occupancy, staff safety (lone working, contact tracing and duress alarms) and asset tracking – Machine vision (anonymised at source), presence detection, window and door sensors, live asset tracking and locating. 

• Secure, user-friendly dashboarding and analytics – Turning all that data into actionable insight via their Neronis® cloud-hosted platform. 

RedCAT (Red Rose County’s Centre for Advanced Technology), guides businesses from post-prototype to demonstration, launch, and full-scale manufacturing and beyond. 

RedCAT’s methodology, which includes embedding experienced technology experts deep within key company projects like Sustainable Smart Technologies, is a practical example of RedCAT’s innovation element in action: 

Innovation considers feasibility and viability, with market and competitor analyses, plus finding grant funding, partners to host demonstrator units, early adopter customers, and global roll-out opportunities. 

Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd was funded by RedCAT to deliver a small R&D project looking at the quality of classroom environments, energy saving and emissions reduction in two Rossendale schools. 

 The project involved three main elements: 

• Classroom health and comfort – By fitting wireless environmental sensors in a sample of classrooms, Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd were able to demonstrate and quantify to poor air quality experienced by learners. The cause of this, common to most older school facilities, is the lack of mechanical ventilation. Without active ventilation, in a full classroom, levels of carbon dioxide will always exceed recommended levels. These high levels directly impact thinking and learning and contribute to the spread of airborne viruses. The evidence that we collected will support the school to apply for funding to improve the situation for their pupils. 

• Energy saving and emissions reduction – Similarly, by deploying wireless energy sensors at a different school, potential energy savings worth over £5,000 per year were identified. The cause of this waste is likely IT and other teaching equipment that is being left on 24/7. Given only eleven classrooms were monitored, there is likely a far greater potential for saving at the site. Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd is now working with school leaders to realise those savings. 

• Development of a bespoke mobile sensor platform – The project also funded the team to develop their own sensor platform, in a tablet form factor. The platform will, initially, be used to showcase expertise, for example at trade shows, events and during site surveys. The intention, however, is to develop it into a freestanding product. 

As Dr Dan Bradley, Technical Director, Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd explains, “This support from RedCAT has been invaluable. SMEs struggle to find the time and resources to fund R&D and to support clients who don’t have the budget for commercial rates. This project allowed us to develop a new product offering, while supporting local schools and colleges to meet their energy saving, building health and net zero goals” 

RedCAT is proud to support the innovative work of Sustainable Smart Technologies Ltd (SST). It was a pleasure to provide funding that enabled SST to generate vital data on classroom environment quality, while also identifying opportunities for energy savings. In line with all RedCAT projects, SST benefited from strategic consultancy support, with Stuart Thompson offering expertise through in-depth fundraising meetings, strategic planning sessions, and team workshops to align their goals. Supporting local innovators like SST to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen the Lancashire economy, and create a global impact is exactly what RedCAT was built for.