DeepSeek-V3 Environmental Impact
Efficient MoE model with high capability
Energy per query
2.0 Wh
7x more than a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
1.1 g
China grid (525 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
7 mL
~135 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
China (Hangzhou / Hainan)
Provider
DeepSeek
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
525 g CO2/kWh (33% renewable)
How does DeepSeek-V3 compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
DeepSeek-V3 consumes approximately 2.0 Wh for a medium (~1000-token) prompt, per the updated Jegham et al. (v6) measurements. Despite using a Mixture-of-Experts architecture where only a subset of parameters are active per token, the full 671B-parameter model must be loaded across multiple GPUs. It scores poorly on eco-efficiency in the benchmark — not because its raw compute is unusually high, but because it runs on the carbon-intensive Chinese grid.
Power Source & Carbon
DeepSeek-V3 runs on infrastructure in mainland China, sharing facilities with DeepSeek-R1 in Hangzhou and Hainan. We apply China's 2025 grid carbon intensity of approximately 525 g CO2/kWh (Ember Global Electricity Review 2026, down from ~550) — roughly 37% higher than the US average — with coal still the single largest source. The CO2 figure (~1.05 g) is derived as 2.0 Wh × 525 gCO2/kWh.
Water Usage
At approximately 7.4 mL per query (2.0 Wh × the DeepSeek family's ~3.7 L/kWh water intensity), DeepSeek-V3's water footprint is modest, though its data-centre locations sit in hot, humid climates that raise cooling demand.
About DeepSeek-V3
DeepSeek-V3 is an open-source text and chat model from DeepSeek, released in December 26, 2024, that runs below the category average for energy consumption at 2.0 Wh per query. Because its weights are publicly available, it can be self-hosted on any infrastructure — meaning its carbon footprint depends entirely on where and how you choose to run it. At 671B parameters, it efficient moe model with high capability.
DeepSeek-V3 in Context
At global scale
With an estimated 10M+ daily users averaging 10 queries each, DeepSeek-V3 consumes roughly 200 MWh of electricity per day — enough to power 6667 homes.
Your yearly DeepSeek-V3 footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual DeepSeek-V3 usage consumes 18.3 kWh — roughly what a fridge uses in a month. That produces 9.6 kg of CO₂.
Key Insights
DeepSeek DeepSeek Family
What does your DeepSeek-V3 usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use DeepSeek-V3.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does DeepSeek-V3 use per query?
Each DeepSeek-V3 query consumes approximately 2.0 Wh of energy. This is 7x more than a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is DeepSeek-V3's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of China (Hangzhou / Hainan), each query produces approximately 1.1 g of CO2. The grid in this region has a carbon intensity of 525 g CO2/kWh with 33% renewable energy.
How much water does DeepSeek-V3 use?
Each query consumes approximately 7 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does DeepSeek-V3 compare to a Google search?
A DeepSeek-V3 query uses 7x more than a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while DeepSeek-V3 uses 2.0 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Transformer Mixture-of-Experts (decoder-only)
Parameters
671B
Context window
128,000 tokens
Release date
2024-12-26
Open source
Yes