Alright writing this from the top of my head but heat pumps are neat and something I'm hoping to work on one day with the rest of the HVAC systems out there. First an overview on some stuff before I get to the why heat pumps are neat.
Refrigerants people know them as freon sometimes but that's a brand refrigerants are the stuff in fridges that make it all work. They are categorized by toxicity and flammability and the reason they're heavily regulated is because of the damage they do to the environment. The main part is the free chlorine that can go on to destroy the ozone layer but after a while that got phased out and now the main concern is their global warming potential. Still despite it all it's their ability to remove heat from a system.
It starts in the compressor which can vary by type but the refrigerant enters it from the suction line as a cooled vapor (idealy only as vapor since liquid refrigerant can damage the compressor though through the use of crankcase heaters and accumulators this can be prevented). The compressor does it's part and compress the low pressure vapor into a high pressure high temperature vapor and leaves out through the discharge line. Out it goes through the discharge line at an ideal higher tempature (not exceeding 225 F) towards the condenser. The condenser is usually known as the heat rejecting part of the refrigerant cycle. Subcooling occurs and turns the hot vapor into a hot liquid an important part for the next part. It leaves through the liquid line towards a metering device (these can vary from fixed to ones that regulate based on tempurature or other means. These regulate and help transfer the refrigerant towards the evaporator where it enters it in a state of vapor mixed with liquid. Here air from the supply side blows over it to cool it down transferring the heat from the air to the refrigerant. The refrigerant is then superheated and converted back into a low pressure low temperature vapor and goes through the suction line back towards the compressor to do it all over again.
Short of is fridge is cool inside because the hot air that leaves it at the bottom but what if we could use that hot air or make frige hot instead? Heat pumps can reverse the refrigerant making the heat rejecting part and heat absorbing parts reversed through the means of a reversing valve. This valve has one line in from the discharge line and three valves on the other side with the middle one always used for the suction line plus the other two outs depending on if it's in heating or cooling mode. The condenser and evaporators no long have to be just outside and inside (another metering device maybe needed based on which unit is now acting as the heat absorbing part).
Heat pumps are ideal for saving energy heating a home since it takes heat outside and brings it in, even in colder climates since their is so much more outside than in it just keeps taking until it can't. Heat pumps start to not work around 0 F so they are paired with other heat sources such as gas or electric in order to meet a homes needs. The balance point is the spot where the heat pump can't meet the needs and switches over to a different source of heating.
The other thing that makes a heat pump different from AC is that the outside door unit is equipped with a defrost mode. Since these units can go below freezing point they do build up frost on the coils so a defrost is needed. These can be sensed from either a thermometer on the coils, be time set, or both. The out door fan will shut down, the compressor will go off and the temperature will go up until the frost is cleared.
On troubleshooting them there are a number of things that can go wrong from leaks to dirty indoor or outdoor units (condensers/evaporators for heating, evaporators/condesors for cooling), air supply issues (dirty filters or something blocking the returning air from going back) low charge to too much charge (refrigerant), electrical issues (contactors, tranformers, relays, capacitors, faulty thermostats) and compressor issues. It's best to figure out what went wrong instead of just assuming you need a new unit or just more charge.
Yeah there's more and this is what I want to make a career of, with a little hope and a lot of luck I'll make it into the hvac system. Everything in hvac is just the refrigeration cycle over and over again so by studying this I hope I can make it and if not at least amused some of you.
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The feeling of your best cis ally repeatedly telling you her trans friend's deadname. Second best doesn't think dysphoria is real and that I should wait until I'm like 30 to transition.
:doomjak:
I'm sorry, those aren't allies they just want to think they are
Are they doing it without correcting themselves?
One time I accidentally dead named someone. It was the first person in a social circle of mine to be newly and openly trans. I was quiet for a few minutes, and then asked them if they prefer me to correct my mistake immediately or just be quiet and pretend the awkward moment didn't happen. They said always do the first, the second is worse.
Maybe your cis ally needs to hear this? If they're really trying to be an ally, I mean.
which is uh
pretty bad now that I read it again. She's generally been very supportive so I'm hoping its just ignorance. I told her it was hurtful to share people's deadnames but she never responded to that part. Not sure if she's planning to talk to me about it next time I see her or just quietly accepted it.
When the person I accidentally deadnamed freshly started transitioning to she/her, people in my circle would say in stories "when *new name was a still a guy, he..." and it was all so new to me. I didn't know what to say.
One day I decided, she was probably always a she, even if she didn't know it. And I started saying that when people told me old stories about her.
I still haven't asked her if that's true. Does it matter that I ask? Did I make the right decision on how to get people to stop saying "he/him" in reference to her before her transition?
Yea, you always use current pronouns unless the person tells you something otherwise. Also a difference between her saying that and someone else saying it. I think you made the right call sticking up for her and saying what you did.
Why 30???? wtf, I was plenty old enough in my late 20s. Dysphoria isnt real to someone who doesnt think of it that way, but also cis people get dysphoria all the time. They get plastic surgery, laser hair removal, muscle implants, hair implants, surgeries to correct pectus excavatum, etc. They aren't happy when they're misgendered, I dunno how many times my coworkers whined when they got referred to with a non binary they/them in a form email. They just dont live in it like we do cause it's more infrequent. I guarantee your friend has had gender dysphoria but refuses to put that label on it
It isnt cool to tell people other peoples' deadnames with the ONLY exceptions being legal or medical stuff and like we're talking dire fucking life or death style circumstances. Like some critical information is on a chart in their dead name or whatever, or I guess if they get something legally important in the mail and its under a dead name. Ive met back up people who I knew in high school and I would be like "oh yeah you probably knew me by a different name" and they didnt ask and were pretty resistant to me saying which is the best attitude in a cis person Ive encountered about my dead name
She didn't necessarily give an age, but told me I should go to college, "discover myself", get a career, etc, and then start hrt. Which uh, puts me at least in my late 20s. She's literally had top surgery too (removal, butch lesbian). (probably could have been more clear about her in the original post but was mostly upset about person 1). She also thinks hrt can cause your body to stop producing any hormones. Very hard time with her tbh.
Yea I know :/ I told her it was hurtful- she didn't respond to that part of my text. I might see her on Saturday so I'm not sure if maybe she'll try and explain herself then? Or if she just quietly accepted it.
So she might have had her own dealing with dysphoria and says it ain't real - unless it was a double mastectomy for like BRCA genes or whatever. You can discover yourself at 12 years old and know youre trans. I wouldn't put any time limits or gatekeeping on it, thats just dumb. Itd be nice if medical services can engage as soon as a person cracks their egg rather than saying "nope you haven't met the official criteria for starting, criteria not based on empirical medical scientific knowledge but one person's vibes based guess" lol.
Also cis men and cis women are the number one users of HRT ๐ fuck off with that. Theyre on E and T all the time.
I'm not really too sure what to make of her, either way she seems happy enough. She said it was just what she wanted and was done dealing with back pain.
Yea I know
very tiring dealing with some of her takes. She also doesn't listen very well. But its whatever, she's chill other then that.
Is this at all true? I heard the body returns to it's original state if you stop HRT.
I know if your transfem and on either kind of hrt for long enough, they can stop producing significant amounts of T even if you stop. Its a long time though from what I remember. Other hormones though, like insulin and melatonin no that's just nonsense. I'm less familiar with Ts effect on ovaries.
Also some changes are definitely permanent, like breasts from E etc.