The Siemens SENTRON 3VA2116-7HM42-0AF0 is a 4-pole molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) rated for 160 A continuous current across the full ambient range from 40 °C to 70 °C — no derating needed up to that ceiling. It carries a line protection role, meaning it's the main feeder breaker in a distribution panel, not a motor-protective device. The interrupting capacity tells the story: 330 kA at 240 V, 242 kA at 415/440 V, 187 kA at 500 V, and 3.7 kA at 690 V. That 330 kA figure at 240 V is the number that'll matter for high-fault utility feeds in North American panels — it's rated to clear a massive bolted fault without the case rupturing. The ETU330 electronic trip unit inside gives you adjustable long-time, short-time, and instantaneous protection curves plus ground-fault monitoring via summation current sensing on L+N conductors. That's the kind of selectivity you need when coordinating downstream branch breakers.
Panel Fit & Integration
Footprint: 140 mm wide, 181 mm tall, 86 mm deep. That's a 4-pole MCCB that fits the standard SENTRON mounting pattern. Comes with one auxiliary switch and one trip alarm switch (HQ type) factory-fitted — that's your status feedback to a PLC or annunciator panel without adding a separate accessory block. Maximum power dissipation is 25.5 W at rated load. Factor that into your panel thermal calculation — it's not negligible if you're packing several breakers in a sealed enclosure. Operating temperature range is -25 °C to 70 °C; storage from -40 °C to 80 °C. The 70 °C operating ceiling matches the full-current rating — no derating needed up to that point, which is unusual for an MCCB.
What It Replaces or Crosses To
The 3VA2116 is a 160 A frame versus the 100 A frame on the 3VA2110-7HK42-0AA0. Same 4-pole, same ETU330 trip.