Siemens SENTRON 3VA1116-4EF36-0JH0 — 160 A Molded Case Circuit Breaker, Line Protection
The Siemens 3VA1116-4EF36-0JH0 is a 3-pole SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) rated for line protection duty, carrying a continuous current Iu of 160 A and a rated insulation voltage Ui of 800 V. It uses a TM240 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release, so the thermal pickup is fixed at 160 A and the magnetic trip threshold is set at 240 A — a common pairing for feeder or main-switch applications where you need the magnetic hold above the continuous rating to avoid nuisance trips on motor inrush. Breaking capacity runs from 121 kA at 240 V down to 11.9 kA at 690 V, which covers most low-voltage distribution panels. The 75.6 kA at 415 V is the figure to check if your service transformer is close-coupled — that is where the fault current is highest in a 400 V-class installation.
Thermal Derating and Panel Fit
The breaker is rated a flat 160 A from 40 °C to 50 °C ambient. Above that, it derates to 153.6 A at 55 °C, 150.4 A at 60 °C, 147.2 A at 65 °C, and 144 A at 70 °C. If the panel ambient runs hot — say, a packed enclosure near a furnace line — the 70 °C figure is the one to size against. Front-face protection is IP40, so the breaker is splash-safe on the front but not sealed against dust ingress into the enclosure. Physical footprint is 130 mm tall by 76.2 mm wide by 70 mm deep — a standard 3-pole MCCB width that fits most DIN-rail or panel-mount backplates without a sub-plate adapter. The auxiliary contact block is factory-fitted as 2 auxiliary switches plus 1 trip alarm switch (HQ type), so you get status feedback and a separate alarm contact without adding a side-mount module.
Integrated Shunt Trip and Auxiliary Release
This version includes a factory-installed shunt trip release (STL) for remote tripping — order code 3VA9688-0BL32 for the release module itself if you ever need a spare. There is no undervoltage release, no ground-fault monitoring, and no communication function on this variant; it is a straight line-protection MCCB with remote-trip capability only. Mechanical endurance is rated at 15,000 operations, which is typical for a panel main switch that sees a few cycles per day. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to +70 °C, storage from -40 °C to +80 °C. The trip indicator is present, and the voltage-trigger function is enabled — meaning the shunt trip can be wired to a remote emergency-stop pushbutton or a safety relay without an intermediate contactor.