MCCB for line protection — 80 A, 4-pole, 187 kA interrupting capacity
The Siemens 3VA1180-5EF46-0AA0 is a 4-pole SENTRON molded case circuit breaker rated 80 A at 40 °C, with a TM240 thermal-magnetic overcurrent release. It's designed for line protection — meaning it sits upstream protecting a feeder or distribution bus, not a specific motor or load. The interrupting capacity hits 187 kA at 240 V and 121 kA at 415 V, which gives you serious fault-current headroom for high-capacity panelboards or transformer secondaries. The 4-pole configuration covers three-phase plus neutral switching, common in North American and some international distribution schemes where the neutral needs to be disconnected with the phases. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, so it can live in 480/277 V or 600 V panels without derating the insulation. Front IP40 protection means it's fine inside a dry enclosure but not washdown-rated. Mounting is standard for the 3VA frame — bolts into a panel or onto a mounting plate, not DIN-rail snap-on. Power loss at rated load is 19.2 W, worth factoring into enclosure thermal calculations if you're packing several breakers tight.
Thermal derating and interrupting performance across voltages
The 80 A rating holds flat from 40 °C through 50 °C — no derating needed in a typical 40 °C panel. At 55 °C it drops to 78 A, at 60 °C to 77 A, and at 70 °C to 74 A. That's a gentle slope; you don't lose much headroom unless the ambient is extreme. Interrupting capacity falls off as voltage rises: 187 kA at 240 V, 121 kA at 415 V, 75.6 kA at 440 V, and 17 kA at both 500 V and 690 V. At 690 V the 17 kA figure is the limiting case — verify your available fault current at that voltage before committing the BOM line.