Interrupting capacity and continuous rating
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2116-5HL36-0JL0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for 160 A continuous current at 40 °C. Its interrupting capacity reaches 187 kA at 240 V AC, 121 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 79 kA at 500 V, and 4.25 kA at 690 V. That 187 kA figure at 240 V means it can safely clear a fault up to that level without upstream devices needing to coordinate — critical for high-fault service entrances or transformer secondaries where available fault current is high.
Trip unit and auxiliary configuration
The overcurrent release is the ETU320 electronic trip unit, providing adjustable long-time, short-time, instantaneous, and ground-fault protection curves. A shunt trip (STL) auxiliary release is built in for remote tripping. The auxiliary contact block includes 2 auxiliary switches plus 1 trip alarm switch and 1 electrical alarm switch (HQ configuration), giving the panel builder a full set of status signals back to the PLC or SCADA without adding a separate contactor stack.
Thermal derating and environmental limits
The breaker holds its full 160 A rating from 40 °C through 50 °C. Above that, derate linearly: 154 A at 55 °C, 148 A at 60 °C, 142 A at 65 °C, 136 A at 70 °C. Operating ambient range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C. Maximum power dissipation is 25.5 W — relevant for panel heat load calculations in a sealed enclosure.