How much water and energy does AI use?
AI uses water and electricity mainly through data centres, which need power and cooling to train and run models. How much water depends heavily on the site, the climate and the cooling system, so per-question figures are uncertain. The IEA estimates data centres used about 1.5% of the world's electricity in 2024. Use AI when it really helps.
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Why it matters
Every AI answer runs on real machines in real buildings that need power and cooling. Headlines swing between "it's nothing" and "it's boiling the planet". Knowing what's measured and what's guessed helps you make calm, sensible choices.
In 6 minutes you'll be able to
- Data centres used about 1.5% of world electricity in 2024, and AI is speeding up growth.
- Images and video use more than short text; clean power makes a big difference.
- Be wary of precise per-question numbers. Use AI where it adds real value.
What you'll practise
Follow the energy
Tap each card to see where AI's footprint comes from.
- 🏋️ Training
- Building a large model means running thousands of chips for weeks. It's a big, one-off cost for each model.
- 💬 Everyday use
- Each answer, image or video needs computing too. One request is small, but billions a day add up.
- 💧 Cooling and water
- Chips get hot. Many data centres use water to cool them, and power stations use water too. How much varies hugely by site.
- 🔌 Where the power comes from
- The same AI task has a far smaller footprint on a grid run on wind, solar or hydro than on coal or gas.
- 🏭 Chips and buildings
- Making chips and building data centres also uses energy and materials, before any AI runs at all.
Known or unknown?
Some numbers are measured, some are guesses. Test yourself.
About how much of the world's electricity did data centres use in 2024?
- About 1.5% (Answer)
- About 15%
- Almost nothing
How much energy does one chatbot question use?
- It's uncertain: estimates vary a lot by model and setup (Answer)
- Exactly one bottle of water
Which usually needs more computing: a short text answer or a generated image?
- The image, and video needs even more (Answer)
- They're about the same
Can AI also help the environment?
- Yes, for example by helping run power grids more efficiently (Answer)
- No, AI can only make things worse
Smart habits
Which habits cut waste without giving up useful AI? Choose all that fit.
- Use a normal search for a simple fact
- Write a clear prompt so you need fewer retries
- Generate one image you need, not fifty for fun
- Ask for a short answer when that's all you need
- Regenerate the same answer over and over to compare
- Feel guilty and never use AI, even when it helps
- Believe the scariest number you see online
Remember
AI has a real footprint, and the numbers are still uncertain. Use it where it truly helps.
Key facts
- Data centres used about 415 TWh of electricity in 2024, around 1.5% of the world's total. Their use has grown by about 12% a year since 2017. · Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy and AI, 2025
- In its base case, the IEA expects data centre electricity use to more than double to around 945 TWh by 2030, slightly more than Japan uses today, with AI as the biggest driver. · Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy and AI, 2025
- In the United States, data centres are on course to account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand between now and 2030. · Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy and AI, 2025
- In tests of common AI tasks, generating images used far more energy than text tasks such as classifying or short text generation. · Source: Luccioni, Jernite & Strubell, Power Hungry Processing, ACM FAccT, 2024
- Per-question energy and water figures for chatbots are uncertain: they depend on the model, hardware, cooling and local power grid, and companies rarely publish full data.
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Questions people ask
How much energy does AI use?
Nobody publishes an exact total for AI alone. The IEA estimates all data centres used about 1.5% of world electricity in 2024 and expects that to roughly double by 2030, mainly because of AI.
Does AI use a lot of water?
Data centres can use water for cooling, and power stations use water too. How much depends heavily on the site, the climate and the cooling system, so global estimates are uncertain.
Is using a chatbot bad for the environment?
One question has a small footprint, but billions of requests add up, and images and video cost more. Using AI where it really helps, and not out of habit, is a sensible middle path.
Can AI help fight climate change?
It can help, for example by managing power grids, improving forecasts and speeding up research. Whether the benefits outweigh AI's own energy use depends on how it's deployed.
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