Electricity used by a generated video, 7 models measured
Electricity per video, default settings, in Wh (logarithmic scale)
Electricity used by a generated video, 7 models measured
Source
Source: Delavande, Pierrard and Luccioni, September 2025. projetcelsius.com/en/ai · CC BY 4.0
The analysis
- From 0.14 to more than 415 Wh, a factor of 3,000 separates the most frugal from the most power-hungry.
- Duration and resolution weigh heavily: doubling the duration multiplies the energy by about 4, doubling the height and width by 16.
- The same generator exists in 2 sizes: the 14-billion-parameter version consumes 4.6 times the 1.3-billion one.
The figures
- AnimateDiff (1.6 s, 512p): 0.14 Wh.
- LTX-Video (5 s, 512p): 3.7 Wh.
- CogVideoX 2B (6.1 s, 480p): 9.7 Wh.
- CogVideoX 5B (6.1 s, 480p): 25 Wh.
- Mochi 1 (2.8 s, 480p): 52 Wh.
- WAN 2.1 1.3 B (5.4 s, 720p): 90 Wh.
- WAN 2.1 14 B (5.4 s, 720p): over 415 Wh.
Assumptions
- Server GPU, processor and memory, one video, default settings.
- Open models only, measured on an Nvidia H100 card; no measurement for Sora, Veo, Kling or Runway.
- The videos have neither the same duration nor the same resolution: they are shown under each model.
More on uses
The whole Uses topic →Charts and maps
Chart
UsesElectricity by type of AI taskover1,000timesimage generation versus text classificationChartUsesReasoning mode multiplies energy useChartUsesEnergy savings from 4 settings10times as muchsaved by shortening the response rather than the instructionChartUsesElectricity used by a question, an image, a videoabout300timesa 5-second video versus one question
UsesElectricity by type of AI taskover1,000timesimage generation versus text classificationChartUsesReasoning mode multiplies energy useChartUsesEnergy savings from 4 settings10times as muchsaved by shortening the response rather than the instructionChartUsesElectricity used by a question, an image, a videoabout300timesa 5-second video versus one questionAnalyses
Where does this figure come from?Uses20 October 2026"A generated image is a phone charge"The comparison did the rounds of the media in late 2023. It came from a serious study, but from its preliminary version, from the most power-hungry generator, and from a phone charge counted as 12 Wh.
Where does this figure come from?Uses20 October 2026"A generated video uses 1 kWh"The figure has been circulating since 2025, often attached to Sora. It comes from a real measurement, but one made on a different, open model, in a particularly heavy version. Measurements of 7 generators range from 0.14 to 415 Wh.Tools
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AI Impact DatabaseAll the figures, their methodology and their sources.
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