90Wh
Electricity use of a generated 5-second video
Most downloaded open generator · 5.4 seconds in 720p · measured in September 2025
Generating a 5-second video in 720p with WAN 2.1, the most downloaded open generator, consumes about 90 Wh of electricity, according to the measurement by Delavande, Pierrard and Luccioni of September 2025.
!Depending on the model, a video ranges from 0.14 to more than 415 Wh: the selected value is not an average.
Definition and scope
Electricity consumed by a server to generate a video of about 5 seconds with WAN 2.1 (1.3 billion parameters), the most downloaded open generator, default settings.
✓What is included
- ✓The GPU
- ✓The server's processor and memory
✕What is excluded
- ✕The cooling of the data centre
- ✕Training and manufacturing
- ✕The user's device
How the value is obtained
Measurement on an Nvidia H100 card, 50 generations per model. The authors write "nearly 90 Wh" for a measured sum of 90.5 Wh.
Limits and uncertainties
- No published measurement for Sora, Veo, Kling or Runway.
- Energy grows as the square of the duration and of the number of pixels: a 10-second video in 1080p would consume far more.
The order of magnitude
All figures90 Wh on an electricity scale, with 6 other reference figures, brought to the same unit. Each tick multiplies by 10.
In context
See the chart and its dataElectricity use of a generated video, 7 models measured
Electricity per video, default settings, in Wh (logarithmic scale)
Measurements published in September 2025
From 0.14 to more than 415 Wh, a factor of 3,000 separates the most frugal from the most power-hungry.
AI Impactby Projet Celsius
