Methodology
How we calculate
The chain is the same for every tool. Only the first step differs — and that is exactly where it is decided how much a number is worth.
The chain
- Usage signal
- × energy factor → kWh
- × regional grid mix → CO₂
- × water efficiency → litres
The energy factor is the shaky part. No provider publishes how much electricity a single request actually draws. What we have is research and vendor statements — we cite both with source and date.
Two statements, not one
Every row carries two independent statements. They are often confused, and that confusion is why so many numbers in this field are worthless.
Quality
How solid is the energy factor? Measured, estimated, or officially stated by the provider.
Origin
How did the usage figure arrive? Automatically through an API, from an export file, or typed in by hand.
A hand-typed credit count is estimated and manual. Those are two different caveats about the same row, and we show both.
Three ways in
Automatic
Through the providers official admin APIs. One approval by your administration is enough; nothing gets installed.
From a file
Where there is no API but there is an export: upload it, done.
By hand
Where there is neither. Whoever enters a figure is named beneath it — self-reporting stays attributable.
Where our model ends
- Cached requests
- A large share of modern AI requests reuses cached computation. How much work that saves is known only to the operator — and none of them say. Depending on the assumption, results differ by a large multiple. So here we publish a range, not a point value.
- Training
- We account for usage, not for training the models. The training share per request cannot be apportioned credibly from the outside.
- End devices
- The electricity drawn by the machine in front of the person belongs in the building account, not here. Counting it twice would be convenient and wrong.
What we do not collect
- No request content. Only usage signals — how much, when, which tool.
- No breakdown by person unless a company explicitly asks for it. The default is a daily total per tool.
Why this sounds laborious
Because in this field a clean number is almost always an invented one. We would rather give you a range that holds than a point value that does not. Anyone who has to stand behind it — in front of customers, auditors, or their own staff — needs the version that survives questions.