What this MCCB carries and where it fits
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2116-5HN46-0HC0 is a 4-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for 160 A continuous current (Iu) at 40 °C, and it holds that same 160 A rating all the way up to 50 °C before it begins to step down — 154 A at 55 °C, 148 A at 60 °C, 142 A at 65 °C, and 136 A at 70 °C. That thermal profile matters if this breaker lives in a crowded enclosure where ambient temperature climbs above 50 °C; the derating curve is baked into the ETU350 electronic trip unit, so you don't need to manually adjust for it, provided you feed the trip unit the right temperature input. The interrupting ratings are what earn this breaker its place on a distribution board: 187 kA at 240 V AC, 121 kA at 415 V AC, and 3.75 kA at 690 V AC. Those numbers tell you it can clear a bolted fault at the low-voltage main without the arc flashing back upstream, provided the upstream transformer and cable impedances keep the prospective fault current within those bounds. The 690 V figure is notably lower — 3.75 kA — so if you are feeding a 690 V motor control center, verify the available fault current at that voltage before committing this breaker to the main bus. It ships with a built-in shunt trip (STL) as the auxiliary release, and the auxiliary contact block is configured as 2 auxiliary switches HQ. There is no undervoltage release, no communication module, no phase-failure detection, and no ground-fault monitoring — this is a straight line-protection breaker with a voltage-triggered shunt trip for remote opening. The trip indicator is absent, so you will not get a local mechanical flag showing the breaker tripped on fault; the auxiliary contacts are your only remote status feedback.
Panel fit and mounting constraints
The breaker occupies a 140 mm width, 181 mm height, and 107 mm depth footprint. That depth is the dimension that most often surprises a panel builder swapping from an older 3VA1 frame — the 3VA2116 is deeper by roughly 10 mm compared to the 3VA1010 frame, so verify the gland-plate clearance and the rear cable-entry space before you cut the mounting plate. The front face carries an IP40 protection rating, which means it is protected against tools and wires greater than 1 mm but not against water ingress; keep it behind a panel door in any washdown area. Maximum power loss is 26 W at rated current. That is not trivial in a sealed enclosure — if you are stacking several of these on a DIN rail or a mounting plate, the cumulative heat load needs to be ventilated or the ambient temperature inside the enclosure will push the breaker into the derating curve above 50 °C. The latching endurance is rated at 20 000 mechanical operations; that is adequate for a distribution board that sees infrequent switching, but not for a motor-switching duty cycle where the breaker is opened and closed multiple times per shift.
Selectivity and coordination considerations
The ETU350 electronic trip unit provides LSIG protection curves (long-time, short-time, instantaneous, and ground-fault — though ground-fault monitoring is not fitted on this variant). The absence of a ground-fault module means this breaker will not detect or clear a ground fault on its own; if your system requires GF protection, you need the variant with the ground-fault monitoring option or an external ground-fault relay. The rated insulation voltage Ui is 800 V, so the breaker is suitable for 690 V systems with adequate clearance, but the interrupting rating at 690 V (3.75 kA) is the binding constraint — not the insulation voltage. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C, with storage from -40 °C to 80 °C. That covers most indoor electrical rooms and outdoor enclosures in temperate climates, but if the breaker is installed in a location that sees sustained ambient temperatures below -25 °C (e.g., unheated Arctic-grade shelters), the ETU350 electronics may not power up reliably. The reference code per DIN EN 81346-2 is Q, which designates it as a switching device for power distribution.