What this 3VA2340-5KP32-0KC0 is and what it does
Siemens SENTRON 3VA2 molded case circuit breaker, 3-pole, 400 A continuous current, line protection.
Key ratings and what they mean for your panel
The interrupting capacity drops as voltage rises: 187 kA at 240 V, 121 kA at 415 V and 440 V, 75.6 kA at 500 V, and 17 kA at 690 V. That 17 kA at 690 V is the number to check if you're on a 690 V industrial system — it's still a solid rating, but not the headline figure. The rated insulation voltage is 800 V, so the breaker's internal insulation is designed for 800 V systems even though the interrupting ratings top out at 690 V. Temperature derating is real on this frame. The breaker holds a full 400 A from 40 °C up to 50 °C. At 55 °C it derates to 375 A, at 60 °C to 350 A, at 65 °C to 325 A, and at 70 °C to 300 A. If your panel ambient runs hot — say 55 °C inside the enclosure — you're effectively buying a 375 A breaker, not a 400 A one. Plan your load accordingly. The ETU850 electronic trip unit gives you adjustable long-time, short-time, instantaneous, and ground-fault protection curves. That's the kind of selectivity you need to coordinate downstream breakers without nuisance trips. The communication function means it can talk to a BMS or SCADA system for remote monitoring and trip-event logging — useful for a facility manager who wants to know why a breaker tripped without walking the panel. Power loss is listed at 96 W maximum. That's the heat the breaker dumps into the enclosure at full rated current. When you're sizing ventilation or air conditioning for a panel with multiple breakers, that number matters — 96 W per breaker adds up fast.
Physical fit and panel integration
Dimensions: 248 mm high, 138 mm wide, 110 mm deep. 138 mm width is the 3-pole frame width. Auxiliary contacts are two HQ (high-qualified) switches, rated for signaling and control circuits. The shunt trip (STL) release is built in — that's the coil that lets a remote signal or emergency-stop button trip the breaker electrically. No undervoltage release is fitted, so if you need that function you'll add it as a separate module.