What this MCCB carries and where it fits
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1096-4ED32-0CH0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated 16 A continuous at 40 °C, with a TM210 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release. It's a line-protection version — meaning it's set up for feeder and distribution circuits, not motor protection with adjustable overloads. The 121 kA breaking capacity at 240 V and 75.6 kA at 415 V give it serious fault-clearing muscle for high-available-fault-current panels. That SCCR headroom means it can sit upstream in a distribution board without needing a current-limiting fuse ahead of it. It ships with an undervoltage release (UVR) fitted — the release is the 3VA9608-0BB24 integrated auxiliary trip unit. That UVR will trip the breaker if control voltage drops below its dropout threshold, which is common for emergency-stop circuits or safety-shutdown chains where loss of control power must open the main. The auxiliary contact package is 2 auxiliary switches plus 1 trip alarm switch (HQ configuration), so you get N/O and N/C status feedback plus a separate alarm contact that closes only on a fault trip.
Thermal derating — the real current you can carry
Rated 16 A at ambient up to 50 °C, then it starts to taper: 15.36 A at 55 °C, 15.04 A at 60 °C, 14.72 A at 65 °C, and 14.4 A at 70 °C. If your panel runs hot — say 55 °C inside a packed enclosure — you're losing about 4 % of the nominal rating. The 3VA1096-4ED32-0CH0 is rated for continuous operation from -25 °C to 70 °C ambient, with storage from -40 °C to 80 °C. That operating range covers most indoor industrial panels; the storage spec matters if the breaker sits in an unheated warehouse before installation.
Panel fit and wiring
Footprint: 130 mm tall, 76.2 mm wide, 70 mm deep. That 76.2 mm width is the standard 3-pole MCCB form factor — it'll land on the DIN rail or mounting plate in a distribution board without surprises. The front face carries an IP40 protection rating, so it's fine for a dry indoor enclosure but not for washdown environments. Rated insulation voltage Ui is 800 V, which covers 480/600 VAC systems with margin. The IEC 81346-2 reference code is Q, meaning it's classified as a switching device in the system designation standard.