What it is and what it does
The Siemens 3VA2225-5HL42-0BL0 is a SENTRON molded case circuit breaker (MCCB) designed for line protection in distribution panels. It carries a continuous current rating of 250 A and is built on a 4-pole frame, meaning it switches all three phases plus neutral. The breaker includes an undervoltage release (UVR) as the auxiliary release — if the supply voltage drops below a threshold, the UVR trips the breaker, which is standard for motor feeder protection or emergency-stop circuits where you want automatic dropout on power loss. The auxiliary switch configuration is 2 auxiliary switches + 1 trip alarm switch + 1 electrical alarm switch HQ, giving you remote status indication for the main contacts, a separate trip signal, and an electrical alarm contact. The basic switch itself is order code 3VA2225-5HL42-0AA0, so this -0BL0 variant adds the UVR and the HQ alarm switch package on top of that base breaker.
Breaking capacity — what the numbers mean for your panel
This MCCB's interrupting capacity is rated at 187 kA at 240 V, 121 kA at 415 V and at 440 V, 75.6 kA at 500 V, and 4.5 kA at 690 V. The 187 kA at 240 V figure tells you this breaker is designed for high-fault-current applications on the low-voltage side — typically downstream of a large transformer or in a main distribution board where the available fault current is high. The 121 kA at 415 V covers the standard European 400 V class, and the 75.6 kA at 500 V handles industrial 480 V/500 V systems. The drop to 4.5 kA at 690 V is normal for MCCBs at that voltage — the arc extinction gets harder as voltage rises, so the interrupting rating falls off. For a 690 V installation, you'd need to verify that the available fault current at that point is under 4.5 kA. The continuous current is 250 A at ambient temperatures up to 50 °C. Above that, derating applies: 241 A at 55 °C, 232 A at 60 °C, 222 A at 65 °C, and 213 A at 70 °C. If your panel runs hot — say near a furnace line or in a non-ventilated enclosure — you need to account for that derating or oversize the breaker. The maximum operating temperature is 70 °C, minimum -25 °C; storage range is -40 °C to 80 °C.
Physical fit and panel integration
Dimensions: 181 mm height, 140 mm width, 86 mm depth. That 140 mm width is the standard 4-pole MCCB footprint for the SENTRON 3VA2 frame — it occupies four 35 mm DIN-rail modules (each module is 17.5 mm, so 4 × 17.5 = 70 mm, but the breaker is wider than that because of the housing and arc chambers; the 140 mm is the total width including the case). The 86 mm depth is the projection from the mounting surface, which matters for enclosure depth clearance, especially if you have a shallow cabinet or a door-mounted operator. The breaker includes a trip indicator (mechanical flag) for visual confirmation of tripped state.