SENTRON 3VA2 — 40 A line protection MCCB with ETU320
The Siemens 3VA2040-8HL42-0AA0 is a SENTRON 3VA2 molded case circuit breaker rated for 40 A continuous current, configured as a 4-pole unit for line protection duty. It carries an ETU320 electronic trip unit, giving you adjustable overload and short-circuit protection curves rather than fixed thermal-magnetic response — useful when coordinating downstream selective tripping in a distribution panel. Breaking capacity is 440 kA at 240 V AC, 330 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 220 kA at 500 V, and 52.5 kA at 690 V — figures that place it well into the high-interrupting category for industrial service-entrance or sub-distribution boards where fault currents are substantial. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, and the front face carries IP40 protection — suitable for enclosed panel mounting where the breaker is not exposed to tools or debris. Operating temperature spans -25 °C to 70 °C, with storage from -40 °C to 80 °C.
Physical fit and panel integration
Dimensions are 181 mm high, 140 mm wide, and 86 mm deep — a standard 4-pole MCCB footprint for DIN-rail or screw-mount panel installation. Power loss at rated current is 1.2 W, so thermal rise inside a sealed enclosure is minimal; no special ventilation is required for this single unit. The breaker has no undervoltage release, no voltage trigger, and no communication function — it is a pure line-protection device. Ground-fault monitoring is not integrated; if GF protection is needed, pair it with an external module or specify a different variant.
ETU320 trip unit — what it means for coordination
The ETU320 is an electronic trip unit with adjustable overload (Ir) and short-circuit (Isd, Ii) thresholds, plus a time-delay setting for short-delay (tsd). That adjustability lets the site electrical engineer tune selectivity with downstream breakers without swapping trip packs — a practical advantage over fixed thermal-magnetic units when the load profile or fault-current study changes after commissioning.