What this MCCB brings to the panel
The Siemens 3VA2116-5HN36-0AB0 is a 3-pole SENTRON molded case circuit breaker rated for 160 A continuous current, built around the ETU350 electronic trip unit. It's a line-protection device — meaning it's tuned for feeder and main distribution, not motor-starting duty where you'd want a different trip curve. The 187 kA interrupting capacity at 240 V tells you this thing can sit at the service entrance on a high-fault panel and not flinch. At 415 V and 440 V it still holds 121 kA, and it's still good for 79 kA at 500 V. Only when you push to 690 V does it drop to 4.25 kA — so if your system runs at 690 V, you need to check that the available fault current stays under that number. The ETU350 is an electronic trip unit with LI protection (long-time and short-time delay plus instantaneous). No ground-fault monitoring, no voltage trigger, no communication module — it's a straight-ahead thermal-magnetic replacement with electronic precision. That means you get better temperature stability and tighter band tolerances than a thermal bimetal, but you don't get the bells and whistles of a communicating breaker. For a standard distribution board or a main feeder in an industrial panel, that's exactly what you want.
Temperature derating — don't get caught out
This breaker carries its full 160 A from 40 °C through 50 °C. At 55 °C it derates to 154 A, at 60 °C to 148 A, and at 70 °C to 136 A. If you're packing this into a hot panel — say, next to a drive or in a sun-baked enclosure — you need to account for that. The maximum operating temperature is 70 °C, and it'll store from -40 °C to 80 °C. The power loss at full load is 25.5 W, so factor that into your enclosure ventilation calcs.
Physical fit and auxiliary contacts
Dimensions are 105 mm wide, 181 mm tall, 86 mm deep. That's a standard 3-pole MCCB footprint for this current class — it'll drop into most SENTRON mounting bases and busbar systems. The front face carries IP40 protection, so it's fine for a clean indoor panel but not for washdown areas. It ships with two auxiliary switches (HP type) built in, so you've got status feedback for your PLC or indication lights without buying a separate accessory. No undervoltage release, no shunt trip — those would be add-on modules if you need them.