ClimateLevel 6 of 6 territoryTerritory, level 6 of 6Used to calculate 1 entry, level 6Calculated with 3 entries, levels 1 and 4Database structure 
5Organisations
4Occupations and activities
3Uses
2Machine operations
1Calculation factorsPupils and students in France, studies, 1 year
Homework, revision and coursework of the 5.6 million lower and upper secondary pupils and the 3.05 million students. Projet Celsius estimate.
- "Student, 1 year" accounts for 72% of emissions in this scenario.
- Light use: 450 tCO2e; heavy use: 3.9 ktCO2e, with the other settings unchanged.
- Out of scope: their personal use, counted by age, primary school pupils, adult training, server manufacturing and model training.
Sentence to citePupils and students in France, studies, 1 year, Projet Celsius estimate: 1.5 ktCO2e per population per year, for 3.4 GWh of electricity, servers worldwide (458 gCO2e/kWh).
- Calculated with
- Used to calculate
How the calculation is built
For the share that uses AI for their studies. Ministry headcounts at the start of the 2025 academic year, shares from Eurostat and Crédoc.
Comparison with other territories
Characteristics
| Unit | 1 population, 1 year |
|---|---|
| Default location | world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from |
| Counted | the use of AI for studies by lower secondary pupils, upper secondary pupils and students, data centre included |
| Not counted | their personal use, counted by age, primary school pupils, adult training, server manufacturing and model training |
| Status | estimated |
All the characteristics
| Identifier | IA-0513, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0513/ |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.1 of 2 November 2026 |
| Category | Territories, cities, territories, global services |
| Choice of the selected value | database calculation from the entries this one is made of, at the quantities of the unit |
| Sources | calculation of the database |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 |
Usage parameters
Advanced settings
Result for the chosen case
180 days, servers worldwide: 1.5 ktCO2e, 3.4 GWh.
Breakdown by item
Quantity, unit value, contribution and nature of the data for each item
| Item | Quantity | Unit value | Contribution | Share | Nature of the data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student, 1 year | × 2,260,000 | 1.1 kWh | 2.4 GWh | 72 % | recorded |
| Secondary school pupil, 1 year | × 1,500,000 | 340 Wh | 500 MWh | 15 % | assumption |
| Secondary school pupil, 1 year | × 1,340,000 | 340 Wh | 450 MWh | 13 % | assumption |
Entries that use it (1)
Sources of the calculation
19 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.
The result is calculated by Projet Celsius. The sources below support its uses, its factors and its conversion; they do not all measure this total.
Uses and assumptions
These publications shed light on AI tasks and uses. They do not measure the carbon footprint of the case calculated.
Anthropic · March 2026
Anthropic Economic Index report: Learning curves ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits : Anthropic
What the publication covers. Claude.ai conversations from 5 to 12 February 2026 and API use
What it does not cover. the other assistants
Reading by the database. Tracks how the uses of a single assistant evolve
Published observation on uses
Scope of the figure used. Share of study work in Claude.ai conversations, February 2026, against 19% previously
Limit. Supports students' use of AI, on a single assistant
Anthropic · June 2025
Role and limits : Anthropic
What the publication covers. an agent uses about 4 times the tokens of a conversation, a multi-agent system about 15 times
What it does not cover. electricity
Reading by the database. Publisher orders of magnitude, with no absolute value
Deep research → : Re-read from cache →
The context re-read from cache at each of the 40 steps, 40,000 tokens on average
Scope of the figure used. server, convention C4
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Apec · June 2025
Role and limits : Apec
What the publication covers. frequency of generative AI use at work, 2,000 private-sector managers surveyed in March 2025
What it does not cover. non-managers and the number of requests
Reading by the database. Recent French survey on frequency of use at work; copy read on a specialist press site
Secondary school pupil, 1 year →
Support for the "Typical use" setting
Scope of the figure used. The median user among those who use AI, end of 2026: they turn to it every working day for part of their questions, writing and reading, about 5 to 15 requests per day in an office job. In an organisation or a territory, it also sets the share of employees who use it (25%).
Limit. This setting remains an assumption of the database, not a measurement of the occupation.
Support for the "Typical use" setting
Scope of the figure used. The median user among those who use AI, end of 2026: they turn to it every working day for part of their questions, writing and reading, about 5 to 15 requests per day in an office job. In an organisation or a territory, it also sets the share of employees who use it (25%).
Limit. This setting remains an assumption of the database, not a measurement of the occupation.
Crédoc · 2026
Role and limits : Crédoc
Author. Crédoc for Arcep, Arcom, the CGE and the ANCT
What the publication covers. use of generative AI by people aged 12 and over in France in 2025: who, for what, how often, paid or not
What it does not cover. the number of requests
Reading by the database. The reference survey in France, 4,145 people
Pupils and students → : Secondary school pupil, 1 year →
Lower secondary pupils: 3.35 million, 40% get help from AI with their homework
Scope of the figure used. tasks handed to the AI, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year →
Published observation on uses
Scope of the figure used. Users aged 12 to 17 who use AI for homework help and learning (73% among 18 to 24 year olds)
Limit. Survey of 2025 published in 2026, 4,145 people; support for the frequencies and the use
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Quick question →
About 10 exercise questions per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the 68% of teenage users who use it for homework (Crédoc, Baromètre du numérique, edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. computation of the response, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Conversation of 10 exchanges →
About 3 concepts to understand or revise per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the Crédoc Baromètre du numérique (edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. messages, context re-read from cache, responses, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Summarise 30 pages →
About 1 chapter or book to summarise every 2 weeks, assumption; share done with AI based on the Crédoc Baromètre du numérique (edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. document read, summary written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Translate a page →
About 1 language exercise to translate per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the Crédoc Baromètre du numérique (edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Create an image →
About 1 image per week for a presentation or homework, assumption; share done with AI based on the Crédoc Baromètre du numérique (edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. server and data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Web search with an AI →
About 5 searches per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the Crédoc Baromètre du numérique (edition 2026, data 2025).
Scope of the figure used. searches, pages read, response, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Epoch AI · February 2025
Role and limits : Epoch AI
What the publication covers. the calculation from the hardware and the assumed size of the model
What it does not cover. actual measurements
Reading by the database. A public, transparent calculation
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. GPT-4o, 500 tokens written, full scope
Limit. A public calculation, from the hardware and the assumed size of the model
Conversation of 10 exchanges → : Re-read from cache →
The context re-read from cache at each turn: the previous exchanges, and the document already in the conversation if there is one
Scope of the figure used. server, convention C4
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
The 6 other publications in this section
Eurostat · June 2026
Individuals - use of generative AI tools (isoc_ai_iaiu) ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits
Author. Eurostat, survey on ICT use in households
What the publication covers. share of people aged 16 to 74 who used generative AI in the last 3 months, at work, privately, for studies, by country and category, 2025 data
What it does not cover. the frequency of use
Reading by the database. Harmonised European survey, first year
Pupils and students → : Secondary school pupil, 1 year →
Upper secondary pupils: 2.27 million, 66% of 16 to 19 year olds use AI for their studies
Scope of the figure used. tasks handed to the AI, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Pupils and students → : Student, 1 year →
Students: 3.05 million, 74% use AI for their studies
Scope of the figure used. tasks handed to the AI, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Published observation on uses
Scope of the figure used. France, students, used generative AI for their studies in the last 3 months, 2025
Limit. Share of users, which depends on the organisation and the population; here, support for the gap between occupations
Student, 1 year → : Quick question →
About 15 questions per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the 74% of French students who use generative AI for their studies (Eurostat, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. computation of the response, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Translate a page →
About 1 page to translate per week, assumption; high share done with AI, assumption based on Eurostat (2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Generate a function →
About 1 programming exercise per week on average across all fields of study, assumption; share done with AI based on Eurostat (2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Web search with an AI →
About 10 searches per week, assumption; share done with AI based on Eurostat (2025).
Scope of the figure used. searches, pages read, response, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Google · 2026
Role and limits
What the publication covers. up to hundreds of sites browsed and pages processed per search
What it does not cover. electricity
Reading by the database. A presentation page: a ceiling, not an average
Deep research → : Read 1,000 tokens →
The web pages read, about a hundred by default: Google announces up to hundreds of sites
Scope of the figure used. server, excluding the data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
HEPI · February 2025
Role and limits
Author. Josh Freeman, HEPI and Kortext
What the publication covers. 1,041 undergraduate students in the United Kingdom, surveyed in December 2024
What it does not cover. the frequency of use
Reading by the database. British survey
Published observation on uses
Scope of the figure used. British undergraduate students who use AI in one form or another (88% for their assessed work), 1,041 respondents
Limit. Supports the student's use of AI; British survey
Student, 1 year → : Conversation of 10 exchanges →
About 4 concepts to understand or revise per week, assumption; share done with AI based on explaining concepts, the first use reported by British students (HEPI, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. messages, context re-read from cache, responses, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Summarise 30 pages →
About 2 articles or lectures to summarise per week, assumption; share done with AI based on summarising articles, among the first uses reported (HEPI, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. document read, summary written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Query a PDF →
About 2 long documents to query per week, assumption; share done with AI based on HEPI (2025).
Scope of the figure used. document read, response, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Write a page →
About 3 pages of coursework or dissertation per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the 88% of British students who use AI for their assessed work (HEPI, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Proofread a page →
About 3 pages to rework per week, assumption; high share done with AI, rephrasing being the most common writing use (OpenAI, 2025, and HEPI, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Student, 1 year → : Literature search →
About 9 literature searches per year (one per month of study), assumption; share done with AI based on HEPI (2025).
Scope of the figure used. simple tasks, data centre included
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Pew Research Center · January 2025
About a quarter of U.S. teens have used ChatGPT for schoolwork ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits
What the publication covers. 1,391 American teenagers aged 13 to 17, surveyed in autumn 2024
What it does not cover. frequency and other assistants
Reading by the database. American survey, the most recent reviewed on lower and upper secondary school pupils
Secondary school pupil, 1 year →
Published observation on uses
Scope of the figure used. American teenagers aged 13 to 17 who used ChatGPT for their homework (31% at the end of high school, 20% in middle school)
Limit. Supports the pupil's use of AI; American survey of autumn 2024
Secondary school pupil, 1 year → : Write a page →
About 1 essay per week, assumption; share done with AI based on the quarter of American teenagers who use ChatGPT for homework (Pew, 2025).
Scope of the figure used. tokens read and written, data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Projet Celsius · November 2026
Tokens per word, per line of code and per cell, measured with 7 public tokenisers
Role and limits
What the publication covers. 479,888 words from 196 blog articles and their English translation, code from the site and the Python library, a table of measurements; tokenisers of GPT-4o, GPT-4, Llama 3, Gemini (via Gemma 3), Mistral, DeepSeek and Qwen
What it does not cover. the Claude tokeniser, not public
Reading by the database. A measurement on technical texts, figures included; to be repeated if publishers change their tokeniser
Projet Celsius measurement, repeated on request with the public tokenisers
Conversation of 10 exchanges → : Re-read from cache →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Write a page → : Write, with reasoning →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Summarise 30 pages → : Read 1,000 tokens →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Summarise 30 pages → : Write, with reasoning →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Translate a page → : Write, with reasoning →
The translated page, counted as a French page
Scope of the figure used. server, excluding the data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Translate a page → : Read 1,000 tokens →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Translate a page → : Write, with reasoning →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Query a PDF → : Read 1,000 tokens →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Proofread a page → : Read 1,000 tokens →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Proofread a page → : Write, with reasoning →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Deep research → : Write 1,000 tokens →
Length convention: one page
Scope of the figure used. A report page, headings and paragraphs included: between the 1,500-character sheet (250 words) and a full A4 page in single spacing (about 550 words, at 6.1 characters per word measured on our articles)
Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.
Zhang and Nam · June 2026
HANSEL: Extracting Breadcrumbs from Web Agent Trajectories for Interactive Verification ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits
Author. Yujin Zhang and Daye Nam
What the publication covers. 45 web agent trajectories: 13.16 steps and 6.02 pages visited per task on average
What it does not cover. electricity
Reading by the database. A small sample, which gives the order of magnitude of an agent's steps
Web search with an AI → : Read 1,000 tokens →
The 5 pages found, read by the model, and the question: web agents visit 6 pages per task on average
Scope of the figure used. server, excluding the data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Energy and factors
The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.
Role and limits : Google
What the publication covers. chips, host, standby machines, data centre, on-site water
What it does not cover. manufacturing, training
Reading by the database. The only production measurement published by a provider
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Median of a text prompt; chips, host, standby machines, data centre
Limit. The only production measurement published by a provider, not audited by a third party
Google · January 2009
Role and limits : Google
What the publication covers. a search, data centre
Reading by the database. Never remeasured
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. A search, data centre included
Limit. Never publicly remeasured; Google's AI answers are not published
Luccioni et al. · October 2024
Role and limits : Luccioni et al.
Author. Luccioni, Jernite and Strubell
What the publication covers. GPU, processor, memory
What it does not cover. data centre
Reading by the database. Open models only
Create an image → : Generate an image →
One image, of the chosen size: standard by default
Scope of the figure used. GPU, processor, memory; excluding the data centre
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference for the variant "Standard image, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side"
Scope of the figure used. Average of the open models tested, 1,000 images; median 1.35 Wh, maximum 11.49 Wh
Limit. Open models only; closed generators publish nothing
Microsoft Research · 2026
Estimation de l'énergie des requêtes en production (Joule) ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits : Microsoft Research
Author. Microsoft Research, Oviedo et al.
What the publication covers. H100 nodes, production
Reading by the database. Calibrated on production
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Median, 500 tokens read and 300 written, H100 nodes
Limit. Not a measurement, but calibrated on production; judges public estimates to be 4 to 20 times too high
ML.ENERGY · February 2026
Role and limits : ML.ENERGY
Author. Chung et al., University of Michigan
What the publication covers. GPU energy per token, per response, per image, in steady state, according to the number of requests served at once
What it does not cover. processors, host memory, data centre cooling, manufacturing
Reading by the database. The best open benchmark: it serves to compare model sizes with each other, not as a production value
Support for the "Small model" setting
Scope of the figure used. A model of about 8 billion active parameters, like Llama 3.1 8B: about 6 times less electricity per token than the medium model, according to the ML.ENERGY benchmark.
Limit. The setting is a convention of the database supported by this publication.
Reference of the variant "Small model, about 8 billion parameters"
Scope of the figure used. Llama 3.1 8B, one H100 GPU, 64 requests at a time, GPU only, per 1,000 tokens written, reading of the question included
Limit. GPU only, on a benchmark: the database keeps only the ratio to the 70 billion model, 1 to 6.7
The measurement covers a different scope; it is not a direct measurement of this entry.
The 2 other publications in this section
OpenAI · June 2025
Role and limits
Author. Sam Altman, OpenAI
What the publication covers. an average query
What it does not cover. method, scope
Reading by the database. One sentence, no method
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. "An average query", with no published method
Limit. No published scope; consistent with Google
Watershed · Aug. 2026
Estimating GHG Emissions from AI Use: Framework for Corporate-Level Measurement ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits
Author. Bistline, Ulissi, Davis, Glidden, Joyce, Li, Mohsenin and Suh (Watershed)
What the publication covers. factors per 1,000 tokens read and written at the server before PUE (host and standby machines included), PUE separate (1.10 for a large operator, 1.56 for an unknown operator)
What it does not cover. clean measurements, the model and the hardware
Reading by the database. Default factors proposed for review (public data as of June 2026); for a large operator, taken from Google's measurement published in 2025 (Elsworth et al.), which already contains the data centre overhead; constant per token, they underestimate long contexts and agents according to the authors
Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens read, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. A default value that Watershed derives from Google's measurement (0.24 Wh for the median text query of the Gemini app), with about 500 tokens per query and a written token costing 3 times a read token; Watershed does not give the split between read and written tokens. The 0.24 Wh already include the overhead of Google's data centre (0.02 Wh, 8%): with 375 tokens read and 125 written, the simplest reading, the factor contains it, and the PUE of 1.10 applied afterwards counts it a second time (about 9%). Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens written, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. 3 times the reading factor, based on the ratio between writing and reading selected by Watershed (Patel et al., Splitwise, 2024). Same derivation and same caveat as for reading: Google's 0.24 Wh already include about 8% of data centre. Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
Quick question → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for a large operator, from the server to the data centre; 1.56 for an unknown operator
Limit. A default value, not a measurement
Conversation of 10 exchanges → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Write a page → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Summarise 30 pages → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Translate a page → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Create an image → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Web search with an AI → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference factor: Medium model, Watershed default factor
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens read, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. This measurement concerns the reference variant, not a measurement of "Small model, about 8 billion parameters". A default value that Watershed derives from Google's measurement (0.24 Wh for the median text query of the Gemini app), with about 500 tokens per query and a written token costing 3 times a read token; Watershed does not give the split between read and written. The 0.24 Wh already include the overhead of Google's data centre (0.02 Wh, 8%): with 375 tokens read and 125 written, on the simplest reading, the factor contains it, and the PUE of 1.10 applied afterwards counts it a second time (about 9%). Values proposed for review, to be finalised in the next version of the framework
Reference factor: Medium model, Watershed default factor
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens written, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
Limit. This measurement concerns the reference variant, not a measurement of "Small model, about 8 billion parameters". 3 times the read factor, based on the write-to-read ratio adopted by Watershed (Patel et al., Splitwise, 2024). Same derivation and same caveat as for reading: Google's 0.24 Wh already include about 8% for the data centre. Values proposed for review, to be finalised in the next version of the framework
Query a PDF → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Proofread a page → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Article of 1,000 words → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Deep research → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Generate a function → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Conversion into carbon
The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.
Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.
Nature of the data
Published readings, conventions, assumptions
- Projet Celsius assumptions 100 %
Calculation assumptions
Quantities, nature and source of each assumption
Secondary school pupil, 1 year : depending on the settings
Lower secondary pupils: 3.35 million, 40% get help from AI with their homework
Secondary school pupil, 1 year : depending on the settings
Upper secondary pupils: 2.27 million, 66% of 16 to 19 year olds use AI for their studies
Student, 1 year : × 2,260,000
Students: 3.05 million, 74% use AI for their studies
Methodology conventions
With their alternatives
| The default location | Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity |
|---|---|
| Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis | The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries |
| Two significant figures | A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision |
| The formula | the sum of what makes up the entry, then CO2e: electricity (Wh) multiplied by the carbon intensity of the server location (gCO2e/kWh), divided by 1,000 |
| Calculate a case without an entry | The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example |
History
Entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4
- 2 November 2026Version 0.1 of the entry, as of the date of its current value.
- 31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).
