The century-old power grids were not designed to meet modern requirements. The current need to use electricity more efficiently and to introduce "green" sources of energy is not well supported by existing grid technology. A particular problem is that detailed information about consumption of electricity is not provided to users and network operators. This is one of the prime reasons for electricity wastage. The "Smart Grid" concept is a solution to this problem. Smart Grid solutions at this moment in time are expensive to deploy. For developing countries it is particularly difficult to benefit from Smart Grid solutions. This paper proposes a system that can be used in developing economies as a way of reducing the consumption and wastage of electricity. The solution uses cell phones as an instrument to both display information and allow consumers to control appliances in their homes. This will be integrated into a larger Smart Grid application. The paper presents a concept that is still to be implemented and tested.

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BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) is the leading clinical manifestation of HIV infection and caseloads continue to increase in high HIV prevalence settings. TB treatment is prolonged and treatment interruption has serious individual and public health consequences. We assessed the feasibility of using a handheld computing device programmed with customised software and linked to a GPS receiver, to assist TB control programmes to trace patients who interrupt treatment in areas without useful street maps. In this proof of concept study, we compared the time taken to re-find a home comparing given residential addresses with a customised personalised digital assistant linked to a global positioning system (PDA/GPS) device. Additionally, we assessed the feasibility of using aerial photographs to locate homes.ResultsThe study took place in two communities in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa: Wheillers Farm, a relatively sparsely populated informal settlement, and a portion of Alexandra, an urban township with densely populated informal settlements. Ten participants in each community were asked to locate their homes on aerial photographs. Nine from Wheillers Farm and six from Alexandra were able to identify their homes. The total time taken by a research assistant, unfamiliar with the area, to locate 10 homes in each community using the given addresses was compared with the total time taken by a community volunteer with half an hour of training to locate the same homes using the device. Time taken to locate the ten households was reduced by 20% and 50% in each community respectively using the PDA/GPS device.ConclusionIn this pilot study we show that it is feasible to use a simple PDA/GPS device to locate the homes of patients. We found that in densely populated informal settlements, GPS technology is more accurate than aerial photos in identifying homes and more efficient than addresses provided by participants. Research assessing issues of, confidentiality and cost effectiveness would have to be undertaken before implementing PDA/GPS – based technology for this application. However, this PDA/GPS device could be used to reduce part of the burden on TB control programs.

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