DeepSeek-V4-Pro Environmental Impact
1.6T-parameter open MoE with 1M context and Thinking mode
Energy per query
6.0 Wh
20x more than a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
3.1 g
China grid (525 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
22 mL
~45 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
DeepSeek Cloud (China) / self-hosted
Provider
DeepSeek
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
525 g CO2/kWh (33% renewable)
How does DeepSeek-V4-Pro compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
DeepSeek-V4-Pro is a 1.6-trillion-parameter Mixture-of-Experts model activating ~49B parameters per token, with a 1M context window and an integrated Thinking mode. We estimate ~6.0 Wh per non-thinking query; Thinking mode can multiply that substantially, as reasoning modes typically cost 10-25x more energy than plain chat. Open-sourced — the V3.x line was retired in July 2026.
Power Source & Carbon
DeepSeek's own cloud runs in China at ~525 gCO2/kWh (Ember 2026 grid figure). As an open-weight model it is also widely self-hosted on lower-carbon infrastructure globally.
Water Usage
At ~22 mL per query on Chinese infrastructure (3.7 L/kWh combined water factor). Self-hosted deployments vary widely.
About DeepSeek-V4-Pro
DeepSeek-V4-Pro is a 1600B-parameter text and chat model from DeepSeek, released April 24, 2026. 1.6T-parameter open MoE with 1M context and Thinking mode. At 6.0 Wh per query, it uses 20x the energy of a Google search. It runs on a Mixture-of-Experts (1.6T total, ~49B active) with Thinking mode architecture.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — DeepSeek has not published official energy data for DeepSeek-V4-Pro. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
DeepSeek-V4-Pro in Context
The efficiency alternative
Gemini Nano performs the same type of task using just 0.01 Wh per query — 100% less energy than DeepSeek-V4-Pro. For a user sending 25 queries per day, switching would save 54.6 kWh per year.
Your yearly DeepSeek-V4-Pro footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual DeepSeek-V4-Pro usage consumes 54.8 kWh — a meaningful fraction of household electricity. That produces 28.7 kg of CO₂.
Key Insights
DeepSeek DeepSeek Family
What does your DeepSeek-V4-Pro usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use DeepSeek-V4-Pro.
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How much energy does DeepSeek-V4-Pro use per query?
Each DeepSeek-V4-Pro query consumes approximately 6.0 Wh of energy. This is 20x more than a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is DeepSeek-V4-Pro's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of DeepSeek Cloud (China) / self-hosted, each query produces approximately 3.1 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-V4-Pro use?
Each query consumes approximately 22 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does DeepSeek-V4-Pro compare to a Google search?
A DeepSeek-V4-Pro query uses 20x more than a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while DeepSeek-V4-Pro uses 6.0 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Mixture-of-Experts (1.6T total, ~49B active) with Thinking mode
Parameters
1600B
Context window
1,000,000 tokens
Release date
2026-04-24
Open source
Yes
Training data cutoff
2026-03