Siemens 3VM1116-4EE46-0AA2 — SENTRON MCCB, 160 A, Line Protection
The TM220 overcurrent release combines a thermal-magnetic trip with a fixed time-delay short-circuit response, sized for the 160 A frame. Rated insulation voltage is 800 V, and the front face carries IP40 protection — fine for a clean indoor panel, but not for washdown environments.
Breaking Capacity and Derating — What the Ratings Mean for Your Panel
Breaking capacity drops with system voltage: 121 kA at 240 V, 76 kA at 415 V, 53 kA at 440 V, and 12 kA at 500 V. At 480 V (common in North American industrial panels) the curve suggests a value between the 440 V and 500 V figures — roughly 30–40 kA, which covers most distribution-level faults. The 12 kA at 500 V is the limiting case; if your service entrance feeds a 500 V system, verify the available fault current stays below that. Thermal derating is minimal up to 50 °C — the breaker holds 160 A flat. Above that it drops to 158 A at 55 °C, 155 A at 60 °C, 153 A at 65 °C, and 150 A at 70 °C. That 6 % loss from 40 °C to 70 °C is tighter than many MCCBs; you can size this breaker closer to the load without over-speccing the frame for ambient heat. Maximum power loss is 38 W — a modest figure for a 160 A 4-pole frame, which keeps the internal panel temperature rise manageable without forced ventilation in most enclosures.
Panel Fit and Integration
The 3VM1116-4EE46-0AA2 measures 70 mm deep, 101.6 mm wide, and 130 mm high. That 70 mm depth is shallow for a 160 A MCCB — it fits behind a 100 mm deep enclosure door without the breaker protruding into the wiring gutter. Width of 101.6 mm (4 inches) for a 4-pole unit means it occupies about 25 mm per pole, standard for this frame class. No undervoltage release, no shunt trip (voltage trigger), no ground-fault monitoring, and no communication module on this variant. It is a straight thermal-magnetic line-protection breaker — no auxiliaries to wire. If you need remote tripping or ground-fault indication, step to a 3VA-series variant with those options.