UsesLevel 2 of 6 machine operationMachine operation, level 2 of 6Used to calculate 2 entries, level 3Calculated with 1 entry, level 1Database structure 
6Territories
5Organisations
4Occupations and activities
3Uses
1Calculation factorsGenerate a second of video
The electricity of one second of 720p video with WAN 2.1, the most downloaded open video generator on Hugging Face at the time of the study (September 2025). Projet Celsius estimate.
- The figure covers the server's GPU, processor and memory.
- CO2e is calculated from electricity and the worldwide grid; it is not a direct measurement of carbon.
- Out of scope: data centre cooling and server manufacturing.
Sentence to citeGenerate one second of video, Projet Celsius estimate: 7.6 gCO2e per second of video, for 16.7 Wh of electricity, servers worldwide (458 gCO2e/kWh).
- Calculated with
- Used to calculate
Origin of the value
The 5.4-second video measured, divided by its duration. From one open generator to another, a video of a few seconds costs from 0.14 Wh to more than 415 Wh.
Comparison with the other machine operations
Characteristics
| Unit | 1 second of video |
|---|---|
| Default location | world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from |
| Counted | the server's GPU, processor and memory |
| Not counted | data centre cooling and server manufacturing |
| Status | estimated, 1 other published value |
All the characteristics
| Identifier | IA-0014, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0014/ |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.3 of 2 November 2026 |
| Category | Machine operations, what the server computes |
| Choice of the selected value | value taken as it stands from its source, without calculation |
| Sources | · |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 |
Result for the chosen case
This block is made of no other: its value is read from its sources.
Entries that use it (2)
Sources of the calculation
1 publication, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.
Conversion into carbon
The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.
Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.
Published values
1 figure for the same quantity, each within its own scope.
| Source | Date | Electricity | What the figure measures | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second of videoselected by the database, v0.3 | 2026 | 16.7 Wh | the value selected by the database | same scope | estimated |
| Delavande, Pierrard and Luccioni ↗Video Killed the Energy Budget | Sept. 2025 | 90 Wh | 90 Wh for 81 frames in 720p, that is 5.4 seconds, so 16.7 Wh per second, WAN2.1 1.3B, processor and memory included | other scope | measured |
The published figures do not all count the same scope; the scope of each figure is written next to it. Why do the estimates diverge?
Methodology conventions
With their alternatives
| The default location | Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity |
|---|---|
| Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis | The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries |
| Two significant figures | A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision |
| Calculate a case without an entry | The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example |
Uses in the hub
Charts, figures, analyses and articles that cite this entry
History
Entry in version 0.3 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4
- 11 November 2026Description : the most downloaded open generator becomes the most downloaded open video generator on Hugging Face at the time of the study (September 2025).Delavande et al.: "the most downloaded text-to-video model on the Hugging Face Hub at the time of writing"; the value does not change.
- 2 November 2026Designation : A second of generated video becomes Second of video, inference at the server.More precise designation: the object first, the specification after the comma, the quantity or period at the end; the former title remains searchable.
- 2 November 2026Designation : Second of video, inference at the server becomes Generate one second of video.In people's own words.
- 2 November 2026Address : seconde-de-video-inference-au-serveur becomes generer-une-seconde-de-video.Address in people's own words; the old one redirected.
- 31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).
