Your AI prompts come with an energy price tag—Google just revealed how high

Google just pulled back the curtain on one of tech's best-kept secrets: exactly how much energy its Gemini AI uses with every prompt. The answer—0.24 watt-hours (Wh) per median query—might seem small at first (about the same as running your microwave for one second). But multiply that by billions of daily interactions, and it suddenly becomes clear just how much energy AI is really using every day. 

This level of transparency in a new report from Google provides comprehensive data on per-prompt energy usage. It's a wake-up call about how Silicon Valley's AI race will impact the trajectory of clean energy demand—and translate into increased energy costs for everyday Americans.

"We wanted to be quite comprehensive in all the things we included," Jeff Dean, Google's chief scientist, told MIT Technology Review in an interview. And comprehensive it is—Google's analysis reveals that the AI chips powering Gemini account for just 58% of the total electricity demand.

The remaining energy appetite breaks down into surprising categories: 25% goes to supporting hardware like CPUs and memory, 10% powers backup equipment sitting idle but ready, and 8% runs the cooling systems and power conversion necessary to keep everything operational. Every Gemini query triggers this entire infrastructure cascade.

One particularly interesting fact? Complex prompts consume far more energy, according to the report. If you feed Gemini dozens of books for a detailed synopsis, use its reasoning models, or ask it to generate images instead of text, its energy consumption spikes dramatically above the median. The company's data shows that Gemini's median prompt used 33 times more energy in May 2024 than it did in May 2025, though it says improvements in efficiency have brought consumption down.

Google estimates each Gemini query produces 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide—a figure that sounds reassuringly small until you dig into the math. The company calculates this using its own market-based emissions, factoring in its 22 gigawatts of clean energy purchases since 2010. On paper, Google's emissions per unit of electricity are one-third of the average grid's.

While Google can claim carbon neutrality through renewable energy purchases, the actual electricity powering those data centers still draws from the same stressed grid that powers your home. The real-world impact becomes clearer when you zoom out from individual queries to Google's total footprint. The company's data centers, along with those from other tech giants, are driving unprecedented demand growth. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that electricity demand from data centers worldwide will more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours—more than Japan's entire annual consumption.

Google's report arrives at a critical moment for American homeowners. Data centers currently consume about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity, but that's projected to reach 11-12% by 2030. In practical terms, that means power that could otherwise keep rates stable is instead being diverted to answer prompts about recipe substitutions and homework help.

The math for homeowners isn't pretty. Goldman Sachs estimates $720 billion in grid upgrades will be needed through 2030 to meet this demand—costs that utilities pass directly to consumers. Depending on where you live, residential electricity rates are projected to rise between 15% and 40% by 2030, with the average household facing about $143 more per year in electricity costs.

Google's report also reveals that data centers consume 0.26 milliliters of water (about five drops) per prompt. But those drops add up when multiplied by billions of queries, putting additional strain on resources in drought-prone regions where Google operates major data centers.

We need more AI data

While Google's disclosure represents a significant step toward transparency, the company still hasn’t revealed how many total Gemini queries it processes daily, making it impossible to calculate the AI's total energy footprint. The report also strictly limits itself to text prompts, leaving out the substantially higher energy costs of image and video generation.

More top of mind for homeowners may be what Google's efficiency improvements actually mean. When companies make AI more efficient, history shows they don't use less energy—they simply run more queries. It's the digital equivalent of widening highways to reduce traffic, only to find that more cars fill the new lanes.

The irony isn't lost on energy experts: while Google's data centers strain the grid, distributed solar generation from homeowners could actually help stabilize it. Solar prices hit a record low of $2.50 per watt in the second half of 2024—a dramatic decrease from over $3.80 per watt in 2014, according to EnergySage. For homeowners, this means building your own energy independence is much more affordable, even as AI drives grid demand higher.

Rooftop solar provides what data centers take away: distributed generation that reduces strain on transmission lines and helps prevent the brownouts and rolling blackouts that become more likely as facilities like Google's multiply. An 11-kilowatt system—the average quoted on EnergySage—can offset approximately 14,000 kWh annually. If you do the math, that works out to roughly the equivalent of preventing 58,000 Gemini queries from impacting the grid each year.

The benefits compound during peak demand periods when both AI data centers and air conditioning usage spike. Solar panels produce the most electricity during these same afternoon hours, providing crucial relief when the grid needs it most. A recent study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) found that 44% of households that went solar in 2023 earned less than $100,000 annually, with most earning between $50,000 and $100,000—proving that solar isn't just for the wealthy, but a practical defense against AI-driven rate increases.

Google's transparency is refreshing, but it doesn't change the fundamental equation: AI's energy appetite is growing, and ultimately, homeowners will help foot the bill. The question isn't whether Gemini and its AI siblings will impact your electricity costs, but by how much.

Every question typed into Gemini contributes to a system where tech companies reap the benefits while homeowners absorb the infrastructure costs – but the equation shifts when homeowners become energy producers rather than just consumers. Investing in clean energy can change the outcome of AI’s energy appetite and keep energy affordable for everyone.