What this MCCB carries
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1116-3EF36-0HH0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for 160 A continuous current (Iu) with a TM240 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release. It's built for line protection — main feeder or large subfeed duty in a distribution panel. The interrupting ratings climb: 75.6 kA at 240 V, 52.5 kA at 415 V, 32 kA at 440 V, and 10.5 kA at 690 V. That 75.6 kA number at 240 V means it handles high available fault current on the secondary side of a typical 480 V–240/120 V transformer without needing a current-limiting fuse upstream. The TM240 release is a fixed thermal-magnetic unit — no interchangeable rating plugs, no electronic adjustment. You set the breaker once at 160 A and it stays there. That's fine for a dedicated feeder where the load doesn't change seasonally. The shunt trip (STL) on this variant lets a remote signal or emergency-stop circuit drop the breaker without anyone pulling the handle. Auxiliary contacts are built in: 2 auxiliary switches plus 1 trip alarm switch (HQ type). That gives you two separate status signals — say, one for a remote panel light and one for a PLC input — plus a dedicated alarm contact that only changes state when the breaker trips on fault, not when it's manually opened. The trip indicator on the front confirms the breaker opened on overcurrent, not just a manual switch-off.
Thermal derating — what the table tells you
This breaker carries its full 160 A from 40 °C through 50 °C ambient. At 55 °C it derates to 153.6 A, at 60 °C to 150.4 A, at 65 °C to 147.2 A, and at 70 °C to 144 A. If your panel internal ambient runs hot — say, a packed enclosure with multiple breakers and a transformer nearby — you need to size the breaker for the actual ambient, not the nameplate. The derating curve is linear enough to interpolate between those points. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C. The storage limit governs handling and warehousing, not running. IP40 on the front means it's protected against tools and wires larger than 1 mm — standard for a panel-mounted breaker with the door closed.
Footprint and panel fit
Dimensions: 130 mm high, 76.2 mm wide, 70 mm deep. That 76.2 mm width is a standard 3-pole MCCB footprint — three 25.4 mm pole spacings. It mounts on a DIN rail or directly to a backplate with the supplied screws. The 70 mm depth means it clears most 200 mm deep enclosures with room for wiring gutters. No communication module, no ground-fault module, no phase-failure detection — this is a bare-bones thermal-magnetic breaker with a shunt trip and auxiliary contacts.