[ { "id": "boundary-rules", "notes": [ "The cloud-side column usually combines server and network demand where the underlying source does not isolate pure data-center energy.", "AI text and reasoning rows currently keep cloud-side and broader-system energy equal because the live calculator does not model a separate end-user device add-on for those actions.", "The image row is narrower: its 1.7 Wh source covers GPU electricity only. That value is carried through both energy columns as a conservative floor and must not be described as measured server-plus-network or total-system energy.", "Media and Zoom rows use a larger bridge from cloud-side to total-system values, which is why those rows show a bigger gap between columns." ], "order": 1, "sourceIds": [ "epoch-chatgpt-energy", "jegham-how-hungry-is-ai", "iea-energy-and-ai", "xbox-global-platform-baselines", "mytton-network-power-model", "ippolito-what-uses-more", "ifri-ai-dc-energy", "kamiya-streaming-video", "greenspector-social-media-2021", "mytton-zoom", "verdecchia-video-call-energy", "simon-couch-coding-agent", "scenario-methods" ], "summary": "The calculator keeps the first energy column as a cloud-side comparison view and then adds a second total-system column where the research basis supports it.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Row family", "Cloud-side basis", "Total-system basis", "Current calculator result", "Maintenance note" ], "rows": [ [ "AI text / reasoning prompts", "Inference benchmarks used for everyday prompting", "Kept equal to cloud-side in the live calculator", "0.3/0.3 and 33.8/33.8", "No separate end-user device model is currently applied" ], [ "AI image generation", "1.7 Wh GPU-only IEA benchmark", "No boundary-matched broader-system benchmark; GPU-only value carried through as a conservative floor", "1.7/1.7 Wh per image", "Do not label either stored value as a measured server-plus-network or total-system result" ], [ "Coding-agent use", "High-intensity coding-agent benchmark", "Adds a 30 Wh device allowance", "325/355 Wh per hour", "Keep this tied to the current coding-agent estimate, not to prompt counts" ], [ "Netflix / YouTube", "22 Wh per hour server + network", "77 Wh per hour total-system benchmark", "22/77 Wh per hour", "Uses the IEA/Kamiya streaming split already adopted on the site" ], [ "TikTok", "Estimated 7.5 Wh per hour cloud-side", "Estimated 36 Wh per hour total-system", "7.5/36 Wh per hour", "Built from social-video measurement plus streaming-style inference" ], [ "Instagram", "Estimated 5 Wh per hour cloud-side", "Estimated 25 Wh per hour total-system", "5/25 Wh per hour", "Analogy-based row; keep estimated status" ], [ "Snapchat", "Estimated 4 Wh per hour cloud-side", "Estimated 20 Wh per hour total-system", "4/20 Wh per hour", "Lowest-confidence social-media row in the calculator" ], [ "Email / cloud docs / browsing", "Internal light-work bundle", "Bundle with device add-on", "4/30 Wh per daily block", "Not a per-click measurement" ], [ "Zoom as participant", "One-hour participant estimate", "Adds participant device energy", "54/74 Wh per hour", "One-hour meeting framing" ], [ "Zoom as host", "Hosted meeting derivation used on the site", "Adds all participant devices", "192/358 Wh per meeting", "One 50-minute hosted session with 10 people" ], [ "Gaming Console (Xbox Series X + TV)", "7.7 Wh off-prem fixed access, core transport, and modeled game-server facility electricity", "Adds the Series X, reference 54.7-inch TV, and allocated home gateway", "7.7/220 Wh per player-hour", "Locally rendered multiplayer, not cloud gaming; infrastructure is attributional and the server term is low-confidence" ] ], "title": "Current bridge rules used in the calculator" } ], "title": "Cloud-side versus total-system bridge" }, { "id": "device-control-plan", "notes": [ "Device selectors now change total-system energy for YouTube and Netflix while leaving cloud-side energy and water untouched.", "Future device selectors should continue to change total-system energy first; do not change cloud-side energy or water until that method is explicitly revised.", "Fixed rows capture the current teaching assumption, while selectable rows now store and expose the device-specific totals that matter most for realism." ], "order": 2, "sourceIds": [ "scenario-methods", "greenspector-social-media-2021", "kamiya-streaming-video", "xbox-global-platform-baselines", "energy-star-certified-televisions", "verdecchia-video-call-energy" ], "summary": "Device metadata now lives in this record and now powers the first device-aware controls in the live calculator for the rows where the effect is largest.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Row family", "Current default device", "Future control", "Stored total-system options", "Maintenance note" ], "rows": [ [ "Text / reasoning / image prompts", "No separate device term", "No device control", "Cloud-side equals total-system for now", "Add prompt-device terms only if the evidence gets stronger" ], [ "TikTok / Instagram / Snapchat", "Phone", "Keep fixed", "Phone-only in the first device pass", "These rows already behave like mobile-default comparisons" ], [ "YouTube", "Phone", "Selectable", "26 phone, 37 laptop, 77 TV", "Keep cloud-side at 22 Wh and vary only total-system energy" ], [ "Netflix", "Laptop", "Selectable", "26 phone, 37 laptop, 77 TV", "Keep cloud-side at 22 Wh and vary only total-system energy" ], [ "Coding-agent use", "Laptop", "Keep fixed", "Laptop total stored", "This row is already tied to a one-hour laptop-style coding session" ], [ "Browsing bundle", "Laptop", "Keep fixed for now", "Laptop bundle only", "Split the row before adding cleaner device options" ], [ "Zoom participant", "Laptop-style class session", "Keep fixed for now", "Laptop total stored", "Add phone only if a clearer participant-device bridge is chosen" ], [ "Hosted Zoom", "Meeting bundle", "Keep fixed", "Meeting bundle only", "This row counts all participant devices, not just the host" ], [ "Gaming Console (Xbox Series X + TV)", "Xbox Series X plus reference 54.7-inch TV", "Keep fixed in the first release", "220 Wh total-system reference bundle", "Do not add Series S or alternate TV selectors until energy and water can vary together" ] ], "title": "Device metadata plan now stored in the calculator record" } ], "title": "Device assumptions and planned device controls" }, { "id": "water-method", "notes": [ "The current model rounds direct cooling water to roughly 1 mL per Wh of server energy and total water to roughly 6 mL per Wh once indirect electricity water is added back.", "Text prompts keep their own prompt-specific direct and total water values instead of using the generic 1-to-6 rule.", "Reasoning prompts, image generation, social video, streaming, browsing, and Zoom rows currently follow the broader proportional water rule unless a stronger prompt-specific figure exists.", "Jon Ippolito's What Uses More? spreadsheet prompted a review of the generic coefficient. Its 7 mL/Wh selection is retained here as comparative synthesis, not adopted as a measured value.", "Using the spreadsheet's stated 0.3 gCO2/Wh factor, Mistral's 45 mL and 1.14 gCO2e figures imply 11.84 mL/Wh, not 13 mL/Wh. The current 6 mL/Wh broader-water rule therefore remains unchanged pending a boundary-matched source." ], "order": 3, "sourceIds": [ "schneider-google-scale", "lbnl-data-center-report", "epoch-chatgpt-energy", "jegham-how-hungry-is-ai", "ifri-ai-dc-energy", "scenario-methods", "ippolito-what-uses-more", "mistral-environmental-standard", "xbox-global-platform-baselines" ], "summary": "The calculator keeps prompt-specific direct and total water figures where they exist, then uses a broader electricity-to-water bridge for most of the remaining rows.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Evidence or method", "Water relationship", "Boundary", "Current decision" ], "rows": [ [ "Google production Gemini prompt", "0.26 mL / 0.24 Wh = 1.08 mL/Wh", "Direct data-center cooling water for Google's production serving boundary", "Supports the rounded 1 mL/Wh direct-water bridge" ], [ "Mistral 400-token Le Chat response", "45 mL water and 1.14 gCO2e; not reported per Wh", "Provider life-cycle assessment for one response", "Upper-bound context only; do not treat as a direct mL/Wh measurement" ], [ "Ippolito What Uses More? synthesis", "7 mL/Wh, selected as a midpoint between about 1 and 13", "Universal calculator conversion", "Recorded as external comparison; not adopted" ], [ "Recalculation of Ippolito's Mistral bridge", "45 / 1.14 x 0.3 = 11.84 mL/Wh", "Cross-metric conversion through a carbon-intensity assumption", "Documents the arithmetic correction; still not boundary-matched evidence" ], [ "Your Digital Life generic bridge", "1 mL/Wh direct; 6 mL/Wh broader", "Applied to the calculator's row-specific cloud-side energy field", "Retained for v0.2.0 pending stronger activity-specific evidence" ] ], "title": "Evidence considered in the 2026 water-method review" }, { "columns": [ "Row family", "Direct water", "Total water", "Basis", "Maintenance note" ], "rows": [ [ "Text prompts", "0.26 mL per prompt", "1.3 mL per prompt", "Prompt-specific water estimate", "Keep this special case unless the underlying prompt benchmark changes" ], [ "Reasoning prompts", "33.8 mL per prompt", "202.8 mL per prompt", "33.8 Wh energy row with a 1:6 water bridge", "33.8 x 6 = 202.8" ], [ "Image generation", "1.7 mL per image", "10.2 mL per image", "1.7 Wh IEA image benchmark with a 1:6 water bridge", "1.7 x 6 = 10.2" ], [ "Social media / streaming / browsing rows", "1 mL per Wh", "6 mL per Wh", "Rounded direct-plus-indirect water bridge", "Used for TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Netflix, and browsing" ], [ "Zoom participant / host", "1 mL per Wh", "6 mL per Wh", "Rounded direct-plus-indirect water bridge", "Used for both meeting rows" ], [ "Coding-agent use", "325 mL per hour", "1,950 mL per hour", "1:6 water bridge", "325 x 6 = 1,950" ], [ "Gaming Console (Xbox Series X + TV)", "0.32 mL per player-hour", "960 mL per player-hour", "Activity-specific LBNL U.S.-average operational-water scenario, not the generic 1:6 bridge", "Includes electricity-generation water for console, TV, home gateway, access/core network, and server facility; direct telecom water remains unquantified" ] ], "title": "Water conversion rules used by the live calculator" } ], "title": "Water methodology carried into the calculator" }, { "id": "zoom-host-method", "notes": [ "The server term is intentionally small because the model assumes SFU-style routing rather than heavy re-encoding.", "The network term dominates the cloud-side figure and the participant devices dominate the total-system add-on.", "This remains an estimate and should stay visibly separate from directly measured prompt benchmarks." ], "order": 4, "sourceIds": [ "mytton-zoom", "verdecchia-video-call-energy", "scenario-methods" ], "summary": "The calculator's hosted Zoom row combines a small routing/server term, a larger network term, and participant-device energy.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Energy component", "Per-meeting energy (Wh)", "Basis" ], "rows": [ [ "Zoom server routing", "7", "SFU-style routing estimate" ], [ "Network across all participants", "185", "Mytton energy-per-GB framing" ], [ "Devices across all participants", "166", "Laptop-energy assumption used for participant devices" ], [ "Server + network subtotal", "192", "Cloud-side figure used in the calculator" ], [ "Total-system energy", "358", "Hosted meeting figure used in the calculator" ] ], "title": "One hosted Zoom meeting with 10 participants over 50 minutes" } ], "title": "Hosted Zoom meeting derivation" }, { "id": "preset-notes", "notes": [ "Gen Z (Gamer) uses the non-AI student scenario as its base, stores the phone-versus-laptop split used in Section 3, and adds one hour of the fixed Xbox Series X plus television gaming reference.", "Gen Z (moderate AI use) uses the scenario's prompt, image, media, and Zoom quantities, then stores a laptop browsing bundle because the calculator still treats homework and browsing as one row.", "Gen Z (vibe coder) uses the scenario's actual quantities, including 8 high-reasoning prompts, and stores the scenario's phone, laptop, and coding-agent device context for future UI use.", "Worker (hosts Zoom meetings) stores TV Netflix, phone Instagram, laptop browsing, and the hosted-meeting device bundle even though the live row remains fixed." ], "order": 5, "sourceIds": [ "scenario-methods", "simon-couch-coding-agent", "mytton-zoom" ], "summary": "The presets use the four Section 3 scenarios as their names and activity patterns, apply the intended device context in the live device-aware streaming rows, and let maintained starter mixes add clearly identified calculator activities.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Preset", "Intended basis", "Current loaded values", "Stored device context", "Maintenance note" ], "rows": [ [ "Gen Z (Gamer)", "Scenario 1 in Section 3", "1.5 TikTok, 1.25 YouTube, 0.75 Instagram, 0.5 Snapchat, 1.5 Netflix, 1 Zoom participant, 1 hour Xbox Series X plus TV gaming", "Phone social media, phone YouTube, laptop Netflix, laptop Zoom, fixed Xbox Series X plus reference TV", "Uses the non-AI student scenario as its base and adds the maintained one-hour gaming reference" ], [ "Gen Z (moderate AI use)", "Scenario 2 in Section 3", "25 text prompts, 3 images, 1 TikTok, 1 YouTube, 0.5 Instagram, 0.5 Snapchat, 1.5 Netflix, 1 browsing block, 1 Zoom participant", "Phone social media, phone YouTube, laptop Netflix, laptop browsing, laptop Zoom", "Uses the live browsing bundle as a whole row rather than scaling it to 0.75 hours of homework" ], [ "Gen Z (vibe coder)", "Scenario 3 in Section 3", "1 coding-agent hour, 8 reasoning prompts, 15 text prompts, 2 images, 0.25 TikTok, 1 YouTube, 0.75 Netflix, 1 browsing block, 1 Zoom participant", "Laptop coding, phone TikTok, phone YouTube, laptop Netflix, laptop browsing, laptop Zoom", "Uses the scenario's actual prompt counts under the live calculator's heavier reasoning row" ], [ "Worker (hosts Zoom meetings)", "Scenario 4 in Section 3", "1 hosted Zoom meeting, 1 Instagram, 1 Netflix, 1 browsing block", "Meeting bundle Zoom, phone Instagram, TV Netflix, laptop browsing", "Uses the live browsing bundle as-is for the mixed workday activities" ] ], "title": "Preset intent" } ], "title": "Starter mix provenance" }, { "id": "maintenance-notes", "notes": [ "The reasoning row intentionally uses the 33.8 Wh long high-reasoning benchmark, not the much smaller medium-reasoning comparison value.", "The browsing row is a teaching bundle, not a platform disclosure, and should not be rewritten as if it were a direct measurement.", "The TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat rows remain estimated because the underlying platform-specific cloud-side numbers are still absent.", "If stronger prompt, streaming, or meeting research appears, update the supporting note here before changing the rendered calculator values." ], "order": 6, "sourceIds": [ "jegham-how-hungry-is-ai", "greenspector-social-media-2021", "scenario-methods" ], "title": "Current synthesis choices to preserve or revisit deliberately" }, { "id": "image-generation-method", "notes": [ "Jon Ippolito's What Uses More? spreadsheet prompted this review by selecting 2 Wh for a 1024x1024 image and exposing several candidate estimates.", "The calculator does not treat Ippolito's 2 Wh synthesis as a primary measurement. It adopts the underlying IEA report's 1.7 Wh benchmark because the report identifies the model, H100 test hardware, controlled experimental context, and GPU-only boundary.", "The IEA report does not establish a full production-serving or total-system value. The calculator keeps server and total energy equal for this row and labels the result inferred.", "The image water figures are internal 1 mL/Wh direct and 6 mL/Wh broader conversions. None of the image-energy sources measures image-specific water use." ], "order": 7, "sourceIds": [ "iea-energy-and-ai", "ippolito-what-uses-more", "ml-energy-leaderboard", "odonnell-ai-energy-footprint", "ifri-ai-dc-energy", "scenario-methods" ], "summary": "The image row now uses a pinned 1.7 Wh IEA benchmark discovered through comparison with Jon Ippolito's What Uses More? source sheet, while keeping Ippolito's 2 Wh figure and other published estimates visible as comparison evidence.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Evidence", "Figure", "Workload and boundary", "Decision role" ], "rows": [ [ "International Energy Agency, Energy and AI, Figure 1.16 and accompanying text", "1.7 Wh per image", "SD-XL 1.0-base on H100 GPUs; controlled experimental conditions; GPU electricity only", "Adopted v0.2.0 energy coefficient" ], [ "Jon Ippolito, What Uses More? source sheet", "2 Wh per 1024x1024 image", "Secondary synthesis of multiple image estimates", "Prompted the review and remains an explicit comparator; not treated as direct measurement" ], [ "O'Donnell and Crownhart", "1.2 Wh from 4,400 J", "Stable Diffusion 3 with 50 denoising steps as summarized in Ippolito's sheet", "Supporting comparison" ], [ "ML.ENERGY historical result summarized by Ippolito", "0.42 Wh from 1,500 J", "Stable Diffusion 3 with 15 denoising steps; historical configuration must remain pinned", "Lower comparison point; current leaderboard is versioned separately" ], [ "Prior Your Digital Life coefficient", "0.48 Wh per image", "Exact model, hardware, dimensions, and derivation were not recoverable from the included Ifri source", "Replaced in v0.2.0" ] ], "title": "Image-generation evidence decision" } ], "title": "Image-generation evidence and Ippolito crosswalk" }, { "id": "gaming-console-method", "notes": [ "This is locally rendered online console play, not Xbox Cloud Gaming. Multiplayer traffic carries game state, voice, authentication, matchmaking, anti-cheat, and telemetry; the console renders the game.", "The central calculator values are rounded because the infrastructure terms are modeled. Exact component arithmetic is retained below for reproducibility.", "The low, central, and high cases are scenario bundles, not statistical confidence intervals.", "The game-server IT coefficient is the weakest component. Activision publishes architectural details but no per-player electricity, host power, utilization, provider share, PUE, or WUE." ], "order": 8, "sourceIds": [ "xbox-global-platform-baselines", "xbox-lab-platform-baselines", "activision-call-of-duty-matchmaking-ping", "mytton-network-power-model", "energy-star-certified-televisions", "lyu-cloud-gaming-network-anatomy", "playfab-multiplayer-servers", "lbnl-data-center-report", "scenario-methods" ], "summary": "The fixed gaming row estimates one active player-hour of a locally rendered 10 to 12-player shooter on Xbox Series X with a reference 54.7-inch television and fixed broadband. It includes an attributional allocation of shared network infrastructure and a low-confidence modeled game-server term.", "tables": [ { "columns": [ "Component", "Central energy", "Boundary and evidence", "Confidence" ], "rows": [ [ "Xbox Series X console", "127 Wh", "Microsoft global shooter-genre AC-wall average", "High for platform measurement; moderate for this workload" ], [ "Reference television", "79.5 Wh", "EPA ENERGY STAR Sansui LE-55TA1, 54.7-inch average on-mode certification power; illustrative model, not a market average", "High for the model; low for representativeness" ], [ "Allocated home gateway / Wi-Fi", "5.754 Wh", "Mytton power model with 11.5 W idle allocated across two household users plus the 0.20% line-use term", "Moderate-low" ], [ "Fixed access network", "5 Wh", "Mytton central fixed-access allocation per subscriber", "Moderate-low" ], [ "Core / transit network", "1.506 Wh", "1.5 W baseline + 0.03 W per Mbps at the 0.20 Mbps central traffic assumption", "Moderate-low" ], [ "Game-server and support-service IT", "1 Wh", "Project synthesis allowance informed by dedicated-server architecture and generic containerized server hosting; not a Call of Duty measurement", "Low" ], [ "Data-center overhead", "0.22 Wh", "1 Wh server IT x (1.22 PUE - 1), using the LBNL hyperscale central scenario", "Low" ], [ "Exact quantified total", "219.98 Wh", "127 + 79.5 + 5.754 + 5 + 1.506 + 1 + 0.22; calculator rounds to 220 Wh", "Moderate overall" ] ], "title": "Central Xbox Series X plus TV component calculation" }, { "columns": [ "Scenario", "Console / display", "Home + off-prem infrastructure", "Total-system energy", "Direct server-DC water", "Broader operational water" ], "rows": [ [ "Low", "122 Wh / 23.65 Wh", "6.497 Wh", "152.147 Wh", "0.010 mL", "661.869 mL" ], [ "Central", "127 Wh / 79.5 Wh", "13.480 Wh", "219.980 Wh; rounded to 220", "0.320 mL", "957.440 mL; rounded to 960" ], [ "High", "150 Wh / 148.56 Wh", "31.425 Wh", "329.985 Wh", "3.350 mL", "1,440.213 mL" ] ], "title": "Sensitivity scenarios for one active player-hour" }, { "columns": [ "Published field", "Calculation", "Published value", "Boundary" ], "rows": [ [ "Cloud/source-side energy", "5 access + 1.506 core + 1.22 server facility = 7.726 Wh", "7.7 Wh", "Off-prem access, core, and game-server facility; home gateway excluded" ], [ "Broader-system energy", "127 console + 79.5 TV + 5.754 home gateway + 7.726 off-prem = 219.98 Wh", "220 Wh", "Operational player-hour; manufacturing, downloads, patches, standby, and cloud rendering excluded" ], [ "Direct water", "1 Wh server IT x 0.32 L/kWh IT = 0.32 mL", "0.32 mL", "Modeled game-server data-center cooling and humidification only" ], [ "Broader operational water", "218.76 non-DC Wh x 4.35 mL/Wh + 1.22 DC Wh x 4.52 mL/Wh + 0.32 mL direct = 957.44 mL", "960 mL", "U.S.-average electricity-generation water consumption plus modeled direct game-server DC water" ] ], "title": "Published calculator fields and rounding" } ], "title": "Gaming Console (Xbox Series X + TV) method" } ]