Dean Marsh - Using LoRaWAN to Fight Cold & Crime in the UK

The Business of LoRaWAN

🔍 Episode Overview

In this episode, we sit down with Dean Marsh, a veteran in the world of LoRaWAN-powered IoT deployments across the UK. From saving lives in rural Welsh housing to uncovering criminal activity through smart sensors, Dean shares how simple, scalable IoT solutions can drive massive impact—not just efficiency. Whether it's reducing costs, slashing CO₂ emissions, or catching drug gangs, this one’s about using LoRaWAN where it truly matters.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• How a LoRaWAN sensor helped save an elderly man suffering from hypothermia​
• Why LoRaWAN is ideal for scaling low-cost, battery-powered sensors in social housing, utilities, and construction​
• The surprising story of how footfall sensors exposed a drug gang operating out of a residential building​
• Why changing processes, not just tech, is key to successful IoT adoption​
• How partnerships (like UK Connect + Daizy) are simplifying enterprise-scale IoT rollouts​

🛠️ Technologies & Use Cases Discussed

• Social Housing: LoRaWAN for detecting mold risk, fuel poverty, emergency lighting compliance, and smoke alarm automation.
• Utilities: Millions of LoRaWAN-connected water meters transmitting hourly readings.
• Construction Sites: Real-time compliance and safety monitoring with LoRaWAN.
• Optimized Retrofit Projects: Measuring thermal efficiency in homes using multi-sensor data.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Start with the pain points: Customers don’t care about the tech; they care about saving time, money, and carbon emissions.
• Automate compliance: Dean shows how LoRaWAN eliminates manual checks—from emergency lights to Legionella risk assessments.
• It’s all about process change: Successful IoT projects rewrite outdated workflows—not just add dashboards.

🔗 Resources & Mentions

• UK Connect
• Daizy Platform — Used for large-scale IoT provisioning and management.
• MeteoScientific Console — Try LoRaWAN with 400 free data credits.

🙌 Special Thanks

This episode is brought to you by the IoT Working Group at the Helium Foundation.

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