Interrupting capacity and thermal rating
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA1196-4EF36-0KH0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated 16 A continuous at ambient temperatures up to 55 °C without derating; at 60 °C it carries 15 A, and at 70 °C still holds 15 A. Its interrupting capacity reaches 121 kA at 240 V, 75.6 kA at 415 V, 52.5 kA at 440 V, and 11.9 kA at both 500 V and 690 V. That 121 kA figure at 240 V means it can safely clear a fault up to that level on a low-voltage distribution bus without upstream devices needing to coordinate — a strong fit for high-fault-capacity panels where a standard MCCB would require a current-limiting fuse ahead of it.
Line-protection design with integrated auxiliaries
This breaker is designed for line protection (cable and busbar protection), not motor or generator protection — the thermal-magnetic trip curve is set for that role. It ships with a shunt trip (STL) release and includes 2 auxiliary switches plus a separate trip alarm switch (HQ), so you get remote status and alarm feedback without adding a separate accessory module. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V. No undervoltage release, no ground-fault monitoring, no communication module on this variant.
Panel fit and environmental range
Dimensions: 130 mm high, 76.2 mm wide, 70 mm deep — a standard 3-pole MCCB footprint that fits most DIN-rail or screw-mounted panel layouts. Operating range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C. Maximum power loss is 10.6 W, which matters for thermal budgeting inside a sealed enclosure. A trip indicator and voltage trigger are present on the front face for quick visual status.