Créer une grande image

Name: Create a large image
Creator: Projet Celsius
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Projet Celsius

Database entryUsesLevel 3 of 6 useUse, level 3 of 6Used to calculate 1 entry, level 4Calculated with 3 entries, levels 1 and 2Database structure

Create a large image

An image of about 4 megapixels, 2,048 × 2,048 pixels, with an open generator, data centre included. Projet Celsius estimate.

"Generate an image" accounts for 91% of emissions in this scenario.
100% of the calculation rests on database assumptions; it does not measure actual use.
Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training and the user's device.

Compare

Calculated with

Used to calculate

Graphic designer, 1 year

Breakdown of emissions by item

5.9 gCO2e in total: 13 Wh of electricity × 458 gCO2e/kWh (servers worldwide).

Inputs of the calculation 2

PUE of the data centre, Generate an image

Annual emissions from creating a large image, by frequency

Your frequencyPeriod

Read the values at77 times a year

Reading: at 77 uses per year, "Create a large image" weighs as much as charging a phone once a week. Carbon footprint (CO2e) over one year, by number of uses. Each use is a straight line; "Create a large image" is highlighted, with the chosen parameters, and compared with 6 reference uses at their default settings; the solid line is one phone charge per week over a year, and the point where the task reaches it. Servers worldwide. Calculation from the Projet Celsius AI Impact Database.

How the calculation is built

About 4 times a standard image: the computation grows with the number of pixels.

Comparison with the other uses

The topic "Image"

Create an image1.5 gCO2e, 0.3 times the value of "Create a large image"
Retouch a photo1.6 gCO2e, 0.3 times the value of "Create a large image"
Create a large image5.9 gCO2e
Visual in 4 attempts5.9 gCO2e, 1 times the value of "Create a large image"

Emissions of one use, linear scale. For calculated values, servers worldwide.

Characteristics

Unit	1 image
Default location	world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from
Counted	the GPU, processor and memory of the server, and cooling of the data centre
Not counted	server manufacturing, model training and the user's device
Status	estimated

All the characteristics identifier, version, rule for the value, sources, licence

Identifier	IA-0211, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0211/
Version	0.1 of 2 November 2026
Category	Uses, a request to AI
Choice of the selected value	database calculation from the entries this one is made of, at the quantities of the unit
Sources	calculation of the database
Licence	CC BY 4.0

Emissions by server location

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Poland7.5 gCO2e
World5.9 gCO2e
United States4.9 gCO2e
European Union2.7 gCO2e
France0.53 gCO2e

× 14 between Poland and France, for the same electricity

Ember 2025, over the life cycle. The same use consumes 13 Wh in each location.

Create a large image · result per image · estimated · one server location per row.Counted: the GPU, processor and memory of the server, and cooling of the data centre. Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training and the user's deviceFind this case: projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/tasks/create-a-large-image/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0211, entry in version 0.1 · engine 0.3.1 · CC BY 4.0.

Usage parameters

Advanced settings image size

Image size

Result for the chosen case

Location of the servers

For a carbon footprint

The row for a carbon footprint

Item	purchases of services (GHG Protocol scope 3, category 1); regulatory BEGES, category 4
Quantity	1 image
Factor	5.9 gCO2e per image, IA-0211 version 0.1, based on the grid at the location (location-based), servers worldwide
Total	5.9 gCO2e · not counted: server manufacturing, model training and the user's device

Breakdown of emissions by item

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Generate an image5.3 gCO2e · 91 %
PUE of the data centre0.53 gCO2e · 9.1 %

Create a large image · result per image · estimated · servers worldwide.Counted: the GPU, processor and memory of the server, and cooling of the data centre. Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training and the user's deviceFind this case: projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/tasks/create-a-large-image/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0211, entry in version 0.1 · engine 0.3.1 · CC BY 4.0.

Breakdown by item

Quantity, unit value, contribution and nature of the data for each item

Item	Quantity	Unit value	Contribution	Share	Nature of the data
Generate an image (large image, about 4 megapixels)	× 1	12 Wh	12 Wh	91 %	assumption · Bertazzini et al.
PUE of the data centre	× 1.10 on the rest		1.2 Wh	9 %	convention

Entries that use it (1)

Graphic designer, 1 year

Sources of the calculation

3 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.

The result is calculated by Projet Celsius. The sources below support its uses, its factors and its conversion; they do not all measure this total.

Energy and factors

The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.

Bertazzini et al. · June 2025
The Hidden Cost of an Image ↗ (new tab)
Generate an image
Role and limits : Bertazzini et al.
What the publication covers. 17 open image generators, GPU, processor and memory
What it does not cover. data centre
Reading by the database. Measurements on a workstation, open models only
- Create a large image → : Generate an image →
  An image of 4 megapixels
  Scope of the figure used. GPU, processor, memory; excluding the data centre
  Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
- Generate an image →
  Reference for the variant "Large image, about 4 megapixels"
  Scope of the figure used. Image of 1,024 × 1,024 pixels versus 512 × 512, 4 times more pixels: median of the 17 generators tested, from 0.99 to 4.75
  Limit. Measured at small size, where the GPU is not saturated: the database uses 4 above one megapixel
  The measurement covers a different scope; it is not a direct measurement of this entry.
Watershed · Aug. 2026
Estimating GHG Emissions from AI Use: Framework for Corporate-Level Measurement ↗ (new tab)
PUE of the data centre
Role and limits : Watershed
Author. Bistline, Ulissi, Davis, Glidden, Joyce, Li, Mohsenin and Suh (Watershed)
What the publication covers. factors per 1,000 tokens read and written at the server before PUE (host and standby machines included), PUE separate (1.10 for a large operator, 1.56 for an unknown operator)
What it does not cover. clean measurements, the model and the hardware
Reading by the database. Default factors proposed for review (public data as of June 2026); for a large operator, taken from Google's measurement published in 2025 (Elsworth et al.), which already contains the data centre overhead; constant per token, they underestimate long contexts and agents according to the authors
- Create a large image → : Data centre PUE →
  The data centre, convention C3
  Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
  Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
- Data centre PUE →
  Reference of the selected value
  Scope of the figure used. Default factor for a large operator, from the server to the data centre; 1.56 for an unknown operator
  Limit. A default value, not a measurement

Conversion into carbon

The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.

Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.

Ember · 2026
Global Electricity Review 2026, and Our World in Data based on Ember ↗ (new tab)
Grid electricity
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
- Grid electricity →
  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.

Nature of the data

Published readings, conventions, assumptions

What this figure rests on

Projet Celsius assumptions 100 %

A share counts as an assumption as soon as a quantity set by Projet Celsius (a frequency, a share done with AI, a headcount) enters its calculation, even if the rest rests on published measurements.

Calculation assumptions

Quantities, nature and source of each assumption

Generate an image : counted 1 times
An image of 4 megapixels
assumption · Bertazzini et al. · Generate an image

Methodology conventions

With their alternatives

The full methodology

The data centre	Server electricity is multiplied by 1.10 for the data centre · alternatives: × 1.72 from chips to the full service at Google, never to be combined
The default location	Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity · alternatives: the United States, where most of the large assistants run
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 · alternatives: market-based, with purchase contracts, shown alongside when published
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
The formula	the sum of what makes up the entry, then CO2e: electricity (Wh) multiplied by the carbon intensity of the server location (gCO2e/kWh), divided by 1,000
Calculate a case without an entry	The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example

History

Entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4

The changelog

2 November 2026Version 0.1 of the entry, as of the date of its current value.
31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).

Citation

Projet Celsius, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026, "Create a large image", IA-0211 (entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026), projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0211/ · CC BY 4.0.

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