Focus · Uses of AI
Research and education
The measurements published by researchers, task by task and model by model.
By Projet Celsius
Focus areaOnline services0.3Whfor one written question to an AI, reference valueEpoch AI, February 2025Open the focus area →
Focus areaBusinessesSavings from settings and electricity by type of task.See its charts →You are hereResearch and educationThe measurements published by researchers, task by task and model by model.Charts and maps of the focus area
Charts and maps →Focus area
ChartMeasurements published in 2024Electricity by type of AI taskImage generation2.9Text summarisation0.049Text generation0.047Object detection0.038Image classification0.007Luccioni et al., Power Hungry Processing, 2024ChartOne question · logReasoning mode multiplies energy usePEReN, average× 1.9PEReN, code× 9.5Hugging Face× 30same model× 150 to 700× 150 to 700Hugging Face, same modelArcep and PEReN, 2026; Hugging Face, 2025ChartOne question · logElectricity used by a generated video, 7 models measured0.14AnimateDiff3.7LTX9.7Cog 2B25Cog 5B52Mochi 190WAN 1.3415+WAN 140.14 to 415Whper video, depending on the modelDelavande, Pierrard and Luccioni, 2025
Analyses and articles
Analyses
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.On the Projet Celsius blog ↗
Sources for this focus area
- Delavande, Pierrard and Luccioni, Video Killed the Energy Budget, September 2025 ↗
- Luccioni, Jernite and Strubell, Power Hungry Processing: Watts Driving the Cost of AI Deployment?, 2024 ↗
- Arcep, Intelligence artificielle et environnement (mesures du PEReN), May 2026 ↗
- Hugging Face, AI Energy Score v2, December 2025 ↗
Across the hub
AI Impact DatabaseAll the figures, their methodology and their sources.
AI Ranking10 assistants rated out of 100: performance, ethics and environment.
AnalysesThe signed pieces: analyses, viewpoints, "Where does this figure come from?".
Charts and mapsThe reference visuals, with their data and sources.
ToolsOpen calculations, your assumptions on the left, the result on the right.
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