What this MCCB is and what it does
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1110-4EF36-0AE0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed for line protection — meaning it sits at the feeder or sub-feed in a distribution panel, not on a motor branch or as a main disconnect. Rated 100 A continuous at 40 °C ambient, it carries a TM240 thermal-magnetic trip unit that handles overload and short-circuit protection in one package. The 121 kA breaking capacity at 240 V AC tells you this breaker can safely interrupt a fault current up to that level without welding contacts or venting gas into the enclosure — critical for high-fault installations like transformer secondaries or large busway feeds. The 800 V rated insulation voltage (Ui) means the internal creepage and clearance distances are designed for 690 V systems, so it's comfortable on 400/480 V line-to-line panels. Power loss is 25 W maximum at rated load — a figure to check when calculating enclosure heat rise in a sealed cabinet.
Current derating and thermal reality
The 100 A rating holds steady from 40 °C up to 50 °C — no derating needed in a typical ventilated panel. At 55 °C it drops to 98 A, at 60 °C to 96 A, at 65 °C to 94 A, and at 70 °C to 91 A. If your enclosure runs hot (sunlit roof, adjacent heat sources), size the load side for the derated figure, not the nameplate 100 A. The operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C.
Breaking capacity across voltages
The interrupting rating varies with system voltage: 121 kA at 240 V, 75.6 kA at 415 V, 52.5 kA at 440 V, and 11.9 kA at both 500 V and 690 V. On a 480 V panel (common in North America) the 52.5 kA at 440 V is the closest published figure — expect it to be similar or slightly lower at 480 V. For 690 V drives or transformer secondaries, the 11.9 kA limit is the hard ceiling; verify the available fault current at the installation point.
Panel fit and mounting
Width is 76.2 mm (3 in), depth 70 mm (2.76 in), height 130 mm (5.12 in). That 76.2 mm width is a standard 3-inch footprint for a 3-pole MCCB — it fits existing DIN-rail or panel-mount cutouts without adapter plates. The breaker ships with a basic switch (order code 3VA11104EF360AA0) and provisions for up to 4 auxiliary switches (HQ type). No undervoltage release, no shunt trip, no ground-fault monitoring on this variant — those are add-on accessories if needed later.