The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1116-4EF36-0KA0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) built for line protection, rated at 160 A continuous at 40 °C with a TM240 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release. It carries a shunt trip (STL) auxiliary release for remote tripping, which is useful when you need to kill power from a panel pushbutton or a safety relay without walking the line.
Breaking capacity and what it means on site
This MCCB can interrupt 121 kA at 240 V and 75.6 kA at 415 V — numbers that tell you it's built for high-fault industrial panels, not light commercial. At 690 V it still clears 11.9 kA, so it handles the fault current a large motor or transformer can kick back. That 121 kA at 240 V means you can put this breaker upstream of a distribution panel full of smaller breakers and trust it won't weld closed on a bolted fault.
Thermal derating and panel layout
Full 160 A rating holds from 40 °C to 50 °C, then drops gently: 158 A at 55 °C, 155 A at 60 °C, 153 A at 65 °C, and 150 A at 70 °C. If your panel runs hot — say a packed enclosure near a furnace line — you still get 150 A at 70 °C, which is a shallow derating curve. The 38 W maximum power loss matters for heat buildup inside a sealed cabinet; factor that into your thermal calc when stacking breakers side by side.
Physical fit and the shunt trip detail
Dimensions are 130 mm tall, 76.2 mm wide, 70 mm deep — a standard 3-pole MCCB footprint that drops into most SENTRON panelboards and DIN-rail adapters. The shunt trip (STL) auxiliary release is built in, so you don't need to add an external undervoltage module for remote trip. Note there's no trip indicator and no undervoltage release on this variant; if you need a visual flag when it trips, spec a different option code.