Energy per query1,080 J
77.7 quintillionthsUS annual grids
1,080Pencil snaps
3 sextillionGreen photons
About 0.3 Wh
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Google Search (Single Query)
The environmental cost of curiosity/Computing
A single Google search uses about 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, enough to light a 60-watt bulb for 18 seconds. Google processes over 8.5 billion searches per day, which adds up to about 2.55 terawatt-hours per year just for search. The servers also need about the same amount of energy again for cooling.
Measurements
Average response time2 tenths s
20.8 millionthsTitanic sinkings
459 sextillionthsUniverse ages
6.7 thousandthsTikToks
About 200 milliseconds
Data processed per query1 million B
13.7Copies of the Bee Movie script
5 tenthsKindle books
3.3 tenthsInstagram photos
Estimated 1 MB
Total daily energy (all searches)9.2 trillion J
70,076Gallons of gasoline
3.4 millionCar batteries
1.1 millionDaily food intakes
8.5 billion searches/day
Google total data center power22 billion W
4.4 millionClothes dryers
550 millionChristmas light strings
About 22 GW (all services)