Q. We're about ready to replace our deep well submersible pump. In this day and age when electricity rates are going off the wall, we were wondering if there are any submersibles that are good but also use less power than our current one.

A. The whole subject of submersible well pumps is an equation that devolves to such factors as well depth and flow rates. The answer comes up in pump horsepower -- normally about a half horsepower for average residential use but they can go up from there depending upon needs. Undersize the pump and it will strain and wear out sooner and probably not give satisfactory service. I'm not sure what result overpowering would have as the speed at which the pump delivers water is absorbed by the pressure tank. The purpose of the pressure tank is to prevent the pump from "short-cycling" or going on and off in rapid succession. There are new pumps on the market that are variable speed that reduce the need for pressure tanks. They cost a whole lot more than the old fashioned type with the pressure tank and I really don't know their track record as yet.

If one had lots of time on one's hand, one could compute the time the pump operates by calculating the water usage in the house. Figure 50 gallons per person per day. Sit by the pressure tank and listen for the relay switch to click on and off when consu ming a known quantity of water -- like a toilet flush for example -- and figure gallons in at what time rate in seconds and then knowing the electricity consumption (voltage times amps equals watts, times the duration of the pump time on). Calculate a da y’s usage and multiply that times 30. Convert the watts to kilowatts then look up the electric rate per kilowatt -- it's on your electric bill -- and multiply that amount by the kilowatts used by the pump and you'll find out how much it costs you to run your well pump for a month. The answer you come up with won't be 100 percent accurate but like a weatherman or an economist you only need to get close. Then you can put the kids on shower restriction to bring the costs in line.

My feeling is that in the overall scheme of things well pump electric consumption is not too bad for what we get. We spend most of our electricity dollars on A/C, heat, clothes drying and washing, water heating, cooking, refrigeration, electronics and c ommon household lighting. Sure, shave a watt here and amp there and it will add up in the long run. "A penny saved is a penny earned"-- Ben Franklin said that but he used candles.

When it comes to such a critical application as getting water to the house from a deep well, I'd certainly follow the recommendations of an experienced well technician. I checked with Andy Brown of Brown's Well Service in Pasadena for this column. If yo u are replacing a worn out pump I can tell you that as the old pump wore out it was pulling more juice than it did when it was nice and new.

Q. That was an interesting ceiling fan article that you recently wrote. My only regret is that you did not tell us readers which "direction" ceiling fans should be run in summertime and wintertime, and why. Wintertime seems a no-brainer -- have the fan b low the heat down from the ceiling. But what is the logic for reversing it for summertime use? I don't sit on the ceiling, so why blow the cold air up from the floor? Seriously, this has had me stumped for some time now.

A. Actually, you have it "reversed". With the average eight foot room ceiling height and the fan blades at seven feet (minimum) above the floor, it makes sense to blow the air down in summer as the only way one feels cool in hot air is to move the air as rapidly as possible across one's skin to gain evaporative cooling. Temperature of the air is the same whether still or not and even if one makes the argument that the air is temperature stratified (rare in an 8 foot room), moving warmer ceiling air at s peed down will feel cooler than any still, slightly less warm air at skin level.

In winter, the only reason to employ a ceiling fan would be to "mix" the room air. However in a forced air heating system the system's fan does that. The ceiling fan pulls the air up and then, washing it against the ceiling, distributes it about the room . You don’t want to blast air on the skin of room occupants. Warm but dry winter air will definitely feel cool-- if not cold-- blown on bare skin. That’s why many people hate heat pumps. The air from the heat pump register is 14 to 18 degrees warmer than the room air and 85ºF moving air in a 70ºF room feels cold to most humans.

In the old Liberty ship I crewed on in the Navy, the place where the engineman stood his watch near the boilers was about 130ºF plus degrees. The station had two large fans aimed at the place the watch-stander stood and blew as hard as they could to keep the poor fellow conscious. If you strayed from that location for long you ran the danger of passing out from the heat but the blowing air was the same temperature of the air you'd pass out in, just moving across your skin at high speed! So the physics suggest down in summer and off or up in winter. I vote for off. And don't yield to the temptation to sit on the ceiling-- it'll make the blood rush to your head and you'll feel hotter.