What this 3VA1 carries
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1140-6EF32-0JH0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated 40 A continuous at 40 °C, designed for line protection in distribution panels. Its interrupting capacity shifts with system voltage: 220 kA at 240 V, 154 kA at 415 V, 121 kA at 440 V, and 17 kA at both 500 V and 690 V — so the same frame covers high-fault residential mains and lower-fault industrial feeders without a frame-size jump. Thermal derating is modest: full 40 A through 50 °C, then 39 A at 55–60 °C, 38 A at 65 °C, and 37 A at 70 °C. That means in a warm enclosure you lose only 3 A at the top of the operating range, not a full frame downrate. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, so the breaker is electrically rated for 690 V systems with margin. Power loss at rated load is 10.8 W maximum — useful to know for enclosure thermal calculations when grouping several breakers.
Auxiliary and release configuration
This variant ships with a shunt trip (STL) release and an auxiliary switch block: 2 auxiliary switches plus 1 trip alarm switch (HQ). That gives you remote tripping capability and two separate signal paths for status feedback — one for the breaker position, one dedicated to the trip event. No undervoltage release, no ground-fault monitoring, no communication module on this order code.
Physical fit and panel integration
Dimensions: 130 mm height, 76.2 mm width (3 in), 70 mm depth. The 3-pole width is standard for a 160 A frame MCCB — it occupies three 25.4 mm module positions on a DIN rail or panel-mount footprint. The supplied basic switch is order code 3VA11406EF320AA0, which is the internal mechanism; the -0JH0 suffix specifies the factory-fitted shunt trip and auxiliary switch combination.