What this MCCB carries — and what it means for your panel
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2116-5JQ32-0AD0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) on a 160 A frame, designed for line protection. That 160 A rating holds flat from 40 °C through 70 °C ambient — no derating curve to chase in a warm enclosure. Interrupting capacity is the headline: 187 kA at 240 V, 121 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 75.6 kA at 500 V, and 3.7 kA at 690 V. That 187 kA at 240 V tells you this breaker is built for high-fault panels — transformer secondaries, large motor control centers, or any distribution point where the available fault current is well above what a standard 65 kA MCCB can handle. It ships with three auxiliary switches HQ and supports ground-fault monitoring via summation current formation on the L-conductor. Communication function is onboard — relevant if you're feeding status into a BMS or PLC-based monitoring system.
Panel fit — dimensions and integration
The 3VA2116-5JQ32-0AD0 measures 86 mm deep, 105 mm wide, and 181 mm tall. That 105 mm width is standard for a 3-pole 160 A frame in the SENTRON 3VA family — it occupies the same DIN-rail or mounting-plate footprint as other 3VA breakers in this amp class, so a panel laid out for a 3VA2116 variant will accept this unit without re-drilling. Maximum power loss is 25.5 W. In a sealed or tightly packed enclosure, that heat has to be factored into the thermal budget — not a concern in ventilated gear, but worth noting for a high-density MCC lineup. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage from -40 °C to 80 °C. The 70 °C operating ceiling matches the flat current rating — you don't lose ampacity at the top end.