Open-source smart prepaid electricity system using Arduino, ESP8266 and GSM for Africa
# ⚡ Umeme ya Kwetu
**Open-Source Smart Prepaid Electricity System for Africa**
---
## 📌 Overview
**Umeme ya Kwetu** is an open-source smart prepaid electricity platform designed to improve energy accessibility and management in developing regions, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo 🇨🇩.
The system combines **IoT hardware (Arduino, ESP8266)**, **GSM communication**, and a **web-based management platform** to enable real-time monitoring, secure prepaid energy distribution, and remote recharge via SMS.
---
## 🎯 Objectives
* Provide an affordable and scalable prepaid electricity solution
* Enable real-time energy monitoring and control
* Simplify energy recharge via mobile (SMS/GSM)
* Improve transparency and management for energy vendors
* Support smart energy infrastructure development in Africa
---
## 🚀 Key Features
* 🔌 Prepaid electricity metering system
* 📲 Recharge via LoRa and SMS sending to customers by (GSM module: SIM800L / SIM900A)
* 📡 Real-time data transmission to the server using ESP32 and reception will be by loRa which transmits them to the ESP32
* 🌐 Web-based dashboard (Admin / Vendors)
* 👥 Multi-user management (Admin, Vendors, Clients)
* 📊 Energy consumption tracking (kWh)
* 💰 Automatic conversion (1$ = 4 kWh)
* ⚠️ Low credit alerts and notifications
* 🗄️ Local database system (MySQL)
---
## 🏗️ System Architecture
```
[ Client Meter ]
│
▼
[ Arduino + Sensors ]
│
▼
[ LoRa ] ──────────────►[ LoRa ] ──────────────► [ ESP32 ]
│ │
▼ ▼
SMS Recharge [ Web Server (PHP/MySQL) ]
│
▼
[Dashboard / API /GSM Module]
```
---
## 🔧 Technologies Used
### Hardware
* Arduino Nano
* ESP32
* LORA
* GSM Module (SIM800L / SIM900A)
* Energy Meter (Yaki or PZEM-004T)
### Software
* Embedded C / Arduino IDE
* HTML, CSS, Bootstrap
* PHP (Backend API)
* MySQL (Database)
* JavaScript
---
## 📁 Project Structure …