Rated current and breaking capacity — what they mean for your panel
The Siemens 3VA1132-4EE36-0AA0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) rated for 32 A continuous current at 40 °C ambient, with no derating needed up to 50 °C — it holds 32 A flat through that range, then drops only 1 A per 5 °C step to 30 A at 70 °C. That thermal curve means you can load it to nameplate in a warm enclosure without recalculating. Breaking capacity is the real selector here: 121 kA at 240 V AC, 75.6 kA at 415 V, 52.5 kA at 440 V, and 11.9 kA at both 500 V and 690 V. At typical 400 V class distribution voltages, that 75.6 kA covers most industrial service-entrance and sub-distribution applications without needing a current-limiting upstream device.
Trip unit and protection design
The overcurrent release is a TM220 — thermal-magnetic, fixed thermal and magnetic settings, no electronic adjustment. This is a line-protection design, not a motor-protection or ground-fault variant. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, so it's suitable for 690 V systems with margin. No undervoltage release, no shunt trip, no communication module, no ground-fault monitoring — this is a straight thermal-magnetic breaker for basic feeder or branch protection. Power loss at rated current is 10.6 W maximum, which matters for thermal coordination in a packed enclosure.
Physical fit and environmental limits
Dimensions: 130 mm height, 76.2 mm width (3 inches — standard 3-pole MCCB footprint), 70 mm depth. Front IP40 rating means tools or fingers won't reach live parts from the front, but the sides and back rely on the panel enclosure for ingress protection. Operating range is -25 °C to +70 °C, storage from -40 °C to +80 °C. Mounts on a DIN rail or direct-panel mount — the 76.2 mm width matches the standard 3-module MCCB pitch, so it swaps into existing SENTRON or competitive cutouts without re-drilling the gland plate.