400 A MCCB with 242 kA interrupting capacity — what that means for your panel
The Siemens 3VA2440-6JQ32-0AA0 is a 3-pole SENTRON molded case circuit breaker rated for 400 A continuous current across the full ambient range from 40 °C to 70 °C — no derating needed up to that ceiling. At 240 VAC it interrupts 242 kA, at 415 VAC and 440 VAC it handles 187 kA, and at 690 VAC it still clears 9 kA. That interrupting capacity means this breaker can sit at the main distribution point in a high-fault industrial panel without needing a current-limiting upstream device — it clears the fault itself. The ETU560 electronic trip unit gives you adjustable long-time, short-time, instantaneous, and ground-fault protection. N-conductor protection is adjustable from OFF to 20% to 160% of the phase setting, and the ground-fault monitoring uses summation current formation on the L-conductor. That makes it suited for 4-wire systems where you need to protect the neutral against overload. Communication function is built in — no external module required for basic integration into a plant monitoring system. The breaker also reports power loss at 63.5 W maximum, which matters for enclosure thermal budgeting when you're packing several breakers into a single cabinet.
Lifecycle and sourcing — current production, quoted to order
Storage temperature range is -40 °C to 80 °C; operating range is -25 °C to 70 °C. The IP40 front protection means it's fine in a clean indoor panel but not for washdown environments.
Mounting and dimensions — panel fit check
Dimensions are 248 mm high, 138 mm wide, 110 mm deep. That's a standard MCCB footprint for this class — it fits most DIN-rail or screw-mount panel layouts without surprises. The 3-pole body takes up about 138 mm of rail width, so plan your enclosure fill accordingly.