Vertiv Liebert GXT5, 500 VA-20 kVA rack/tower

Manufacturer: Vertiv

Vertiv's single-phase rack and tower UPS line, priced as distributor SKUs rather than as facility capacity

This model is part of SecondWatt’s ups system research catalogue. Specifications and price observations are included where supported by sources. Equipment availability and commercial terms require confirmation.

Vertiv Liebert GXT5 dossier: 500 VA-20 kVA rack and tower UPS, list against street against used pricing on the same part number, and inspection guidance.

Why it matters

The GXT5 is the one place in this category where list, street and used prices are all published for the same part number on the same day. That makes it the reference point for how deep a used discount runs when warranty and batteries both drop out of the deal, and the answer is about 60% off list. Large three-phase iron never discounts that far, because its new warranty is only one year to begin with.

Who buys it

IT and network teams buying rack-mounted backup for closets, edge cabinets and branch sites, usually by part number through a distributor rather than through a power-equipment channel. Secondary buyers are cost-driven and generally accept a battery-less unit, because GXT5 battery packs are user-replaceable and hot-swappable.

Role in the data center

Rack-mounted or tower backup for network closets, edge cabinets and branch sites, bought and priced as an IT SKU rather than as facility capacity. It sits in the rack it protects on a 120 V or 208 V branch circuit, and its battery packs are user-replaceable and hot-swappable, which is why used units so often arrive without them.

Key specifications

Technical summary

120 V VRLA line: 500 VA/500 W, 750/750, 1000/1000, 1500/1350, 2000/1800 and 3000 VA/2700 W; input window 60-150 V, output 120 V. 208 V line: 3,000 VA/3,000 W through 20,000 VA/20,000 W; input 176-280 V, output 208/120 V. Lithium line: 5,000 through 10,000 VA, LiFePO4, 8-10 year design life. Power factor: unity at 500, 750 and 1000 VA on the 120 V line and 0.9 from 1500 VA upward, so volt-amps and watts diverge at and above 1500 VA. Efficiency: up to 95% online double conversion; up to 98% ECO. Topology: online double conversion, pure sine wave output, zero transfer time. Battery: user-replaceable and hot-swappable VRLA or LiFePO4; external cabinets for extended runtime. Warranty: 3-year advanced replacement on VRLA lines; 5 years including cells on lithium. Standards: UL 1778; ENERGY STAR 2.0 certified. Street pricing: consistently 63-66% of list across the line.

Major variations

Five US catalogue entries: 500 VA to 3000 VA at 120 V with VRLA, 3 to 20 kVA at 208 V, lithium at 1 to 3 kVA on 120 V, lithium at 5 to 10 kVA on 208 V, and a TAA-compliant 1000 to 3000 VA VRLA line. International 200-240 V variants are noted on the lithium page. The 120 V VRLA line runs 500/500, 750/750, 1000/1000, 1500/1350, 2000/1800 and 3000/2700 VA/W, while the 208 V line is unity from 3,000 to 20,000 VA. Lithium cells are LiFePO4 with an 8 to 10 year design life and a five-year warranty including cells. External battery cabinets extend runtime on every line.

Configurations and options

Five US catalogue lines rather than one product: 500 VA to 3000 VA at 120 V on VRLA, 3 to 20 kVA at 208 V, lithium at 1 to 3 kVA on 120 V, lithium at 5 to 10 kVA on 208 V, and a TAA-compliant 1000 to 3000 VA VRLA line for federal procurement. Chemistry is the price lever: at equal volt-amps the lithium part streets about 28% above the VRLA part, 2,961.28 USD against 2,319.25 at 2000 VA on 18 August 2026, and it changes the warranty from three years advanced replacement to five years including the cells. External battery cabinets extend runtime on every line, communication cards such as the RDU101 are fitted per order, and international 200-240 V variants including GV and L630 configurations are noted on the lithium page rather than given separate entries.

Compatibility and dependencies

This is a rack or tower SKU that lands in a cabinet, not a facility asset, so the fit questions are the branch, the rack units and the plug. The 120 V line accepts 60-150 V and returns 120 V; the 208 V line accepts 176-280 VAC and returns 208/120 VAC, so it can feed a 120 V branch from a 208 V supply. Size against watts rather than volt-amps: power factor is unity at 500, 750 and 1000 VA on the 120 V line and 0.9 from 1500 VA upward, so a 2000 VA unit supports 1800 W. Batteries are user-replaceable and hot-swappable, which is why used units so often arrive without them and why a used price has to be read as cabinet-only. The unit is UL 1778 listed and ENERGY STAR 2.0 certified. It is not covered by Vertiv's three-phase capacitor and fan replacement program CS-00271, which lists the APS, APM, EXM, NX225, 600 and NXL families.

Pricing and availability

Trend: rising Street pricing across the observed line sits at 63 to 66% of list, essentially uniform from a 500 W unit at 1,267.56 USD against 2,004.00 list to a 10 kVA unit at 10,095.76 against 15,777.00. At equal volt-amps the lithium part streets about 28% above the VRLA part, 2,961.28 USD against 2,319.25 at 2000 VA, and the gap is wider on a watts basis because the lithium unit is rated 2000 VA against the VRLA unit's 1800 W. Lead time, new: In stock at national distributors; 30-500 units observed per part number. Lead time, used or refurbished: 1-2 weeks from refurbishment dealers. Warranty, new: Three-year advanced replacement on the VRLA lines; five years including cells on the lithium lines.. Warranty, used: Gruber Power Services publishes a 1-year full replacement warranty on its refurbished Liebert stock, tested in the USA..

Lifecycle and maintenance

Static UPS cabinets serve roughly 15 years, the figure Mitsubishi publishes alongside a lifecycle-parts-or-replace decision at 10-12 years. The wear items are documented: Eaton rates DC bus capacitors at 7 years of continuous duty and up to 10 in favourable conditions, Riello puts capacitor service life at 10 years with replacement recommended between years 4 and 8, and Vertiv field data gives 6 years for capacitors and 5-6 years or 40,000-50,000 hours for cooling fans. Batteries turn over far faster, at 3-5 years for sealed VRLA and 12-15 for flooded cells, and spent lead-acid leaves as regulated waste through compliant recycling rather than resale. Service life extension programs rebuild the power train inside the original shell, which is why cabinets routinely outlive their electronics.

Thermal and emissions profile

UPS systems produce no combustion emissions, so the regulatory profile is battery handling, efficiency reporting and fire code. VRLA cells are regulated lead-acid waste at end of life and route through compliant recycling rather than resale, which is why asset recovery firms treat cabinet and cells as two separate economies. ENERGY STAR version 2.0 sets the efficiency benchmark, requiring VFI units above 10,000 W to meet 0.0058 x ln(P) + 0.886 and every AC-output unit to hold at least 90% power factor at full load, measured as a load-weighted average at 25, 50, 75 and 100% load. Efficiency is itself the emissions lever, since each point of double-conversion loss is continuous waste heat the cooling plant has to reject.

Common failure points

• Battery strings — VRLA capacity fades below 80% of nameplate and takes the ride-through with it
• DC bus capacitors — Silent open-circuit loss, or a short that pops and sprays electrolyte across adjacent boards
• Cooling fans — Overheating transfers the load to bypass and leaves it unprotected
• Air filters and dust — Restricted airflow raises internal temperature and shortens capacitor life
• Static bypass switch — Failure to transfer strands the load during maintenance or overload
• Controls obsolescence — Discontinued display and logic boards turn a routine repair into a scavenger hunt

Inspection checklist

Battery age: sealed VRLA turns over at 3-5 years per Eaton lifecycle guidance; assume a full string past that. Battery capacity: reject any string below 80% of nameplate capacity under IEEE 1188 practice. Battery impedance: treat ohmic readings more than 20% above the commissioning baseline as an investigation trigger under IEEE 1188 field practice, then confirm against the battery manufacturer limit for the chemistry before condemning a cell. Float voltage: verify 2.23-2.27 VPC at 25 degrees C; float current above 3x steady state flags thermal runaway. Intercell connectors: thermal image every joint; a delta above 5 degrees C against neighbors triggers a capacity test. DC bus capacitors: Eaton rates 7 years of continuous duty (10 optimal); Vertiv field data gives 6 years at 45,000-50,000 h. Cooling fans: Vertiv field data gives 5-6 years or 40,000-50,000 hours; listen for bearing noise at the intake. Air filters: pull every filter; a clogged element is the best single proxy for a cabinet that ran above 25 degrees C.

Procurement channels

New units through national IT distributors with published street pricing and deep stock. Used units through Critical Parts Warehouse and Gruber Power Services, where battery inclusion varies part by part and must be read from the product page rather than the collection card.

Regional notes

US and North American 120 V and 208 V catalogue entries, UL 1778 listed and ENERGY STAR 2.0 certified, with a TAA-compliant line for federal procurement. International 200-240 V variants, including GV and L630 configurations, are noted on the lithium page rather than given their own entries, so confirm the input window and plug type against the destination country before ordering.