The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1116-3EF32-0HH0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) rated for line protection in distribution panels. It carries a 160 A continuous rating at 40 °C, with the full thermal derating curve available: still 160 A at 50 °C, 158 A at 55 °C, and 150 A at 70 °C. That derating profile means you can run it near its nameplate in most ventilated enclosures without oversizing. Breaking capacity is the headline here: 75.6 kA at 240 VAC, 52.5 kA at 415 VAC, 32 kA at 440 VAC, and 11.9 kA at 500/690 VAC. That 75.6 kA at 240 V gives strong selectivity headroom on the secondary side of a 480 V–208Y/120 V transformer — a common panel feed scenario. The 52.5 kA at 415 V covers most European industrial mains without a current-limiting upstream fuse.
Accessories and integration
This unit ships with a shunt trip (STL) release and two auxiliary switches plus one trip alarm switch (HQ) pre-installed. The basic switch variant is 3VA11163EF320AA0. The shunt trip allows remote tripping from an E-stop or PLC digital output — useful for emergency-off circuits where the breaker itself is the disconnecting means. The auxiliary and alarm switches give status feedback to a control system or SCADA input. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, which covers 480/600 VAC systems with margin. Power dissipation is 38 W maximum at rated load — factor that into enclosure thermal calculations if the panel is densely packed.
Mounting and dimensions
Footprint is 76.2 mm wide, 130 mm tall, 70 mm deep. The 76.2 mm width (3 inches) is standard for a 3-pole MCCB in this frame size — it fits existing busbar and DIN-rail layouts without re-spacing. The depth is shallow enough that it clears most standard gland plates and backpanel wiring troughs.