Regular quality AC service was not something I was anticipating when I bought an electric heat pump from the local air conditioning company. I was head over heels for the HVAC system that I overlooked anything that looked like a con. It was the type of a/c setup that I had always wanted. The air conditioning professional had come to deliver a HEPA filter and fix the digital thermostat. It turned out that the temperature control unit was okay. It was the HVAC that needed maintenance. I felt cheated. After the equipment installation, I could enjoy good air quality and indoor comfort with little or no effort from myself. I called a friend who is a cooling expert but works with commercial air conditioning systems and asked if the whole thing about regular maintenance was necessary or if it was just a way of getting money from homeowners. The first thing he did was laugh at me and then went on to tell me that just like everything else, the unit needs regular maintenance to run smoothly and efficiently. I was even surprised that even the ductwork needs cleaning, and here I thought they would always be clean since the is an AC filter. I then resigned to my fate of having to schedule a service schedule with the air conditioning technician, not just for the unit but also for the digital thermostat. From then on, I took it upon myself to learn more about a/c since it was an entirely new concept. I feel embarrassed when I remember my reaction when the tech told me about regular ac care, and to think it was a minor embarrassing thing that happened to me when it came to culture shock.