Cheptoo-dev/Africa-s-Talking-Solarpay-Hackathon

# ⚡ SolarPay – Smart IoT Solar Pay-As-You-Go System 🌞 **Powering Africa with IoT + Pay-As-You-Go Solar** Built at the **Africa's Talking Women in Tech Hackathon 2025** ✨ --- ## 🌍 Problem Millions of households in Africa use small solar systems but: - ⚠️ Don't know when their battery will die (sudden blackouts). - 💸 Struggle with flexible, affordable payment methods. - 📵 Lack access to internet — only feature phones available. --- ## 💡 Our Solution: **SolarPay** ✅ IoT-powered battery monitoring ✅ Affordable **Pay-As-You-Go energy** with Airtime ✅ **USSD & SMS access** (works even on Kabambe phones) ✅ Visual hardware demo: light bulb ON/OFF after payment --- ## ✨ Features - 🔋 **Battery Monitoring** → ESP32 + sensors track solar battery status. - 📱 **USSD/SMS Menu** → Users dial `*123#` to check power status. - 💰 **Pay-As-You-Go with Airtime API** → Unlock power for small payments. - 💡 **Relay-Controlled Demo Load** → Light bulb switches ON/OFF after recharge. - ☎️ **Optional Voice Alerts** → For accessibility. --- ## 🛠️ Tech Stack **Hardware** ⚡ - ESP32 microcontroller - Voltage Sensor + Current Sensor - Relay Module + Light Bulb **Backend** 🖥️ - Node.js + Express **Database** 🗄️ - Firebase Realtime Database **Africa's Talking APIs** 📡 - SMS API → Battery alerts - USSD API → Interactive menu - Airtime API → Pay-As-You-Go payments - Voice API → Optional status calls --- ## 🏗️ System Architecture ```mermaid flowchart LR A["Solar Panel + Battery"] --> B["ESP32 + Sensors"] B --> C["Relay + Bulb"] B --> D["Backend - Node.js + Express"] D --> E["Firebase Realtime DB"] D --> F["Africa's Talking APIs"] F --> G["User Phone SMS/USSD/Airtime"] G --> F ``` --- ## 🚀 Getting Started ### 📋 Prerequisites - **Node.js** (v16 or higher) - **Arduino IDE** (for ESP32 programming) - **Africa's Talking Account** with API keys - **Firebase Project** set up - **Hardware Components:** - ESP32 Development Board - Voltage/Current Sensors - Relay Module - Light Bulb (for demo) - Breadboard & …