Siemens SENTRON 3VA1196-4EF36-0AF0 — 16 A MCCB with TM240 trip and 121 kA SCCR
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1196-4EF36-0AF0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for line protection, carrying a continuous current Iu of 16 A. Its thermal-magnetic trip unit (TM240) provides fixed thermal and magnetic protection without voltage-trigger or ground-fault monitoring — a straightforward overcurrent-only device suited for feeder and branch-circuit duty in distribution panels. The interrupting ratings are substantial: 121 kA at 240 V, 75.6 kA at 415 V, 52.5 kA at 440 V, and 11.9 kA at 690 V, giving the breaker headroom for high-fault installations without cascading upstream. Rated insulation voltage Ui is 800 V.
Thermal derating and panel fit
The breaker holds its full 16 A rating from 40 °C through 50 °C ambient. Above that, derating is linear: 15.36 A at 55 °C, 15.04 A at 60 °C, 14.72 A at 65 °C, and 14.4 A at 70 °C. Operating range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C. The front face carries IP40 protection — fine for enclosed panel mounting, but not for washdown environments. Physical footprint is 76.2 mm wide × 130 mm tall × 70 mm deep, which is the standard SENTRON 3VA three-pole form factor for DIN-rail or screw-fixed backplate installation.
Auxiliary contacts and lifecycle
This variant ships with one auxiliary switch and one trip alarm switch (HQ version) built in — no separate add-on required for remote status or alarm signaling. Mechanical endurance is rated at 15,000 operations. There is no undervoltage release, no communication module, and no phase-failure detection on this configuration; it is a pure thermal-magnetic breaker with basic auxiliary contacts for status feedback.