A ChatGPT prompt equals about 5.1 seconds of Netflix
December 15, 2025
In June 2025 Sam Altman claimed about ChatGPT that “the average query uses about 0.34 watt-hours”.In March 2020 George Kamiya of the International Energy Agency estimated that “streaming a Netflix video in 2019 typically consumed 0.12-0.24kWh of electricity per hour” – that’s 240 watt-hours per Netflix hour at the higher end.
Source: A ChatGPT prompt equals about 5.1 seconds of Netflix
I found that 95% of all AI implementations had no ROI. I haven’t really read the study, and I don’t think many the people who quoted it have read it either.
We also see numbers bandied about about the amount of water used by large language models in particular, at times, single queries, and similarly, the amount of energy required for a single query.
And then yesterday I saw on a toilet that the average flush from that toilet used 3.4 litres of water.
It’s good to see things like this from Simon Wilson where he tries to provide some broader context for the energy and the environmental impact of large language models. It would be even better to see more solid figures from OpenAI, Google, and the other hyperscalers, but at least it’s a start.
