Créer une image

Name: Create an 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 18 entries, levels 3 to 6Calculated with 3 entries, levels 1 and 2Database structure

Create an image

The average of 8 open generators from 2022 and 2023, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side, measured at the server, data centre included.

"Generate an image" accounts for 91% of emissions in this scenario.
The calculation covers 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 device.

Compare

Calculated with

Used to calculate

Breakdown of emissions by item

1.5 gCO2e in total: 3.2 Wh of electricity × 458 gCO2e/kWh (servers worldwide).

Inputs of the calculation 2

PUE of the data centre, Generate an image

Annual emissions for creating an image, by frequency

Your frequencyPeriod

Read the values at310 times a year

Reading: at 310 uses per year, "Create an image" weighs as much as one phone charge every week. Carbon footprint (CO2e) over one year, by number of uses. Each use is a straight line; "Create an image" is highlighted, with the chosen parameters, compared with 5 reference uses at their default settings; the solid line shows one phone charge per week over a year, and the point where the task reaches it. Servers worldwide. Calculation from the AI Impact Database by Projet Celsius.

How the calculation is built

Closed generators publish nothing; depending on the model, measurements range from less than 0.1 Wh to more than 11 Wh.

Comparison with the other uses

The topic "Image"

Create an image1.5 gCO2e
Retouch a photo1.6 gCO2e, 1.1 times the value of "Create an image"
Create a large image5.9 gCO2e, 4 times the value of "Create an image"
Visual in 4 attempts5.9 gCO2e, 4 times the value of "Create an 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	measured, 3 other published values

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

Identifier	IA-0046, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0046/
Version	0.3 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)

Poland1.9 gCO2e
World1.5 gCO2e
United States1.2 gCO2e
European Union0.67 gCO2e
France0.13 gCO2e

× 14 between Poland and France, for the same electricity

Ember 2025, over the life cycle. The same use consumes 3.2 Wh in each location.

Create an image · result per image · measured · one server location per line.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-an-image/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0046, entry added in version 0.3 · 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	1.5 gCO2e per image, IA-0046 version 0.3, based on the local grid (location-based), servers worldwide
Total	1.5 gCO2e · not counted: server manufacturing, model training and the user's device

Breakdown of emissions by item

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Generate an image1.3 gCO2e · 91 %
PUE of the data centre0.13 gCO2e · 9.1 %

Create an image · result per image · measured · 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-an-image/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0046, entry added in version 0.3 · 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	× 1	2.9 Wh	2.9 Wh	91 %	recorded · Luccioni et al.
PUE of the data centre	× 1.10 on the rest		0.29 Wh	9 %	convention

Entries that use it (18)

Presentation of 10 slides, Application with an agent, Video of 3 minutes, Content production, ChatGPT, per day, Gemini app, per day, Communications officer, 1 year, Graphic designer, 1 year and

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.

Luccioni et al. · October 2024
Power Hungry Processing ↗ (new tab)
Generate an image
Role and limits : Luccioni et al.
Author. Luccioni, Jernite and Strubell
What the publication covers. GPU, processor, memory
What it does not cover. data centre
Reading by the database. Open models only
- Create an image → : Generate an image →
  One image, of the chosen size: standard by default
  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 "Standard image, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side"
  Scope of the figure used. Average of the open models tested, 1,000 images; median 1.35 Wh, maximum 11.49 Wh
  Limit. Open models only; closed generators publish nothing
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 an 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.

Published values

3 figures for the same operation, each within its own scope.

Green: same scope as the selected value (measured in dark, estimated or published in light). Grey: other scope. Empty circle: check by the database or discarded figure. Logarithmic scale.

Source	Date	Electricity	What the figure measures	Scope	Status
Create an imageselected by the database, v0.3	2026	3.2 Wh	the value selected by the database	same scope	measured
Bertazzini et al. ↗The Hidden Cost of an Image	June 2025	0.086 Wh to 4.08 Wh	One image, median of each of the 17 open generators tested, GPU, processor and memory of a workstation · A gap of more than 40 times from one model to another; image definition also matters	other scope	measured
MIT Technology Review ↗We did the math on AI's energy footprint	May 2025	0.63 Wh to 1.22 Wh	An image of 1,024 × 1,024 pixels with Stable Diffusion 3 Medium, from 25 to 50 computation steps · GPU measured, then doubled for the rest of the server; twice as many steps, twice as much electricity	other scope	estimated
IEA, Energy and AI ↗Energy and AI	Apr. 2025	1.7 Wh	One image with SD-XL 1.0, GPU alone, test conditions · The GPU alone, without the processor or memory	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?

Nature of the data

Published readings, conventions, assumptions

Rests entirely on published measurements.

Calculation assumptions

Quantities, nature and source of each assumption

Generate an image : counted 1 times
One image, of the chosen size: standard by default
recorded · Luccioni 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

Uses in the hub

Charts, figures, analyses and articles that cite this entry

Key figureElectricity used by an AI-generated image →
Analysis"A generated image is a phone charge" →
ChartElectricity use of a question, an image, a video →
Blog articleQuelle est l'empreinte carbone d'une image générée par IA ? ↗

History

Entry in version 0.3 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4

The changelog

11 November 2026Description : An image of about one megapixel with an open generator becomes The average of 8 open generators from 2022 and 2023, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side.Luccioni et al. measure 8 generators, most of which produce images of 512 × 512 pixels and only one of 1,024 × 1,024; the value (2.907 Wh at the server) does not change.
2 November 2026Designation : A generated image becomes Generated image (≈ 1 Mpx).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 : Generated image (≈ 1 Mpx) becomes Create an image.The name in people's own words.
2 November 2026Short title : Generated image becomes Create an image.In people's own words.
2 November 2026Address : image-generee becomes creer-une-image.The old address redirected.
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 an image", IA-0046 (entry added in version 0.3 of 2 November 2026), projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0046/ · CC BY 4.0.

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