One drying cycle in a dryer is equivalent to approximately 800 questions to ChatGPT, and boiling a liter of water for tea is equivalent to 50 questions. When it comes to power consumption...
How much energy does ChatGPT actually use? There are various figures circulating about this. We based our findings on research by Gerbrand Koren, affiliated with Utrecht University, who studied the climate impact of this technology.
And what did we find? Using ChatGPT consumes a relatively large amount of energy. Worldwide, ChatGPT consumes around 564 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity every day. That equates to an average of 2.9 watt hours (Wh) per question asked by a user. That is more than a simple Google search, and up to ten times as much.
If AI systems such as ChatGPT are integrated into search engines on a large scale, such as Google with Gemini, annual power consumption could rise to between 22 and 29 terawatt hours (TWh). That is comparable to the total annual electricity consumption of a country such as Ireland. But what does that really mean?
How does this consumption compare to appliances such as a kettle or a washing machine?
- Leaving a light bulb on for 1 hour = 20 questions
- 1 hour of LED light = 3 questions
- Boil 1 liter of water = 50 questions
- Charging an electric bike = 140 questions
- 1 wash at 40 degrees = 220 questions
- 1 drying cycle of a dryer = 800 questions
