How much electricity does it take to ask AI one question? — Data centers and electricity
One question is 9 seconds of TV. Add them all up and it's a whole country.
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1 · Think first
One question takes less than you'd think. In measurements released in 2025, a typical text question to Gemini used 0.24 watt-hours (the median) — about the same as running a TV for 9 seconds.
The problem is that those questions pile up nonstop. So instead of one question, you have to look at the electricity of the whole data center, the building where AI lives.
The world's data centers used 415 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, about 1.5% of all the electricity in the world. The International Energy Agency expects that to more than double to 945 terawatt-hours by 2030.
2 · Experiment · Number sense
Try it — Lining up electricity in the same unit
All three use the same unit, the watt-hour (Wh). Use the slider to guess roughly what power of 10 it is, then tap to check the answer. You'll see how far apart the orders of magnitude are.
Figure
How big a slice of all electricity do data centers take?
The unit is terawatt-hours. 1 terawatt-hour is 1 trillion watt-hours.
3 · Quiz
Quick check
Three questions. Pick an answer and it's marked right away, with the reason why.
Today in one line
Today in one line
One question is 9 seconds of TV.
Add them all up and it's a whole country.
Learn more
- Google measured and published the electricity, water and carbon behind one text question — Measuring the environmental impact of AI inference (Google, 2025)
- Summary of the International Energy Agency report with the 415 terawatt-hours and the 945 terawatt-hours for 2030 — Energy and AI — Executive summary (IEA, 2025)
- The International Energy Agency's latest announcement: data center electricity grew another 17% in 2025 — Data centre electricity use surged in 2025 (IEA, 2026)