What this MCCB does in a panel
The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2116-5JQ32-0BA0 is a 3-pole molded case circuit breaker rated for 160 A continuous, with a flat derating curve from 40 °C through 70 °C — no need to downrate as the panel warms up. It's a line-protection device, meaning it sits at the feeder or main branch, not on a motor circuit with overload class requirements. The 28 W maximum power loss is worth checking against your enclosure thermal budget if you're packing several of these into a sealed cabinet. Breaking 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 handles high-fault scenarios on the low-voltage side of a step-down transformer. The steep drop at 690 V (3.7 kA) is typical for a compact-frame MCCB — if your system runs at 690 V with high available fault current, you need to verify coordination upstream. It includes an undervoltage release (UVR) as the auxiliary release type, and the basic switch is 3VA21165JQ320AA0. The UVR means the breaker trips if the control voltage drops below a set threshold — useful for emergency-stop circuits or undervoltage protection on a machine fed from a line that might sag.
Panel fit and environment
Footprint: 105 mm wide, 181 mm tall, 86 mm deep. That 86 mm depth (3.39 in) is the dimension from the mounting surface to the back of the breaker — check your enclosure depth if you're retrofitting into an existing panel. The 105 mm width (4.13 in) for a 3-pole 160 A MCCB is standard for the SENTRON 3VA frame size. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C. The 70 °C operating ceiling matches the flat derating — the breaker is rated for 160 A all the way up to that limit, so no thermal derating curve to calculate for typical industrial enclosures.