November 4, 1982

Tuesday's election results are likely to produce important compromises in economic policy that in turn would result in more progress against inflation, political and economic analysts said today. The voters seemed to be challenging - and modestly undermining - supply-side orthodoxy, but at the same time no major officeholders identified with it were turned out. Neither could the returns be read as reflecting an eagerness to adopt expensive spending programs traditionally offered by liberals, analysts agreed. The analysts acknowledged that the Democrats' gain of 26 seats in the House of Representatives also raised the possibility of Congressional confrontation with the Administration. But to deal with such thorny problems as Social Security funding, military spending and the rising Federal budget deficit, they suggested, the more likely courses would be pragmatism and bipartisanship.

The 1982 Elections Democrats widened their majority in the House by 26 votes Tuesday in an election that raised doubts about President Reagan's ability to protect his conservative economic program from alteration by Congress. The Republicans retained firm control of the Senate, but White House strategists estimated that the election had cut about 24 conservatives from the bipartisan coalition that helped pass Mr. Reagan's key economic legislation. (Page A1, Column 6.) President Reagan was conciliatory about the sizable Republican losses in the House and predicted that both he and the Democrats would have to make ''concessions and compromises'' on major issues. (A1:5.)

How now, Dow Jones? The Dow Jones industrial average, which reached a new high of 1,065.49 yesterday in rising a record 43.41 points, is certainly the world's most widely watched market indicator. But behind the euphoria its performance brought to Wall Street and the celebration that erupted on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when the market closed, there are nagging doubts about its value. When most people talk of changes in ''the market,'' there is little question that they are thinking about changes in the Dow Jones industrial average. Yet many executives in the financial community believe that this average, although it is the oldest continuous price index of the United States stock market, does not truly measure the market's depth, as do more broadly based indicators such as the Standard & Poor's index of 500 stocks and the New York Stock Exchange composite index.

Business executives said the election results may have reversed the conservative flow of the Administration's economic policies. Pragmatism and bipartisanship on economic matters in Congress seemed to be the most likely effect of Tuesday's balloting. Page D1. The Democrats expanded their majority in the House of Representatives by 26 votes Tuesday in an election that raised doubts about President Reagan's ability to protect his conservative economic program from alteration by Congress. But the Republicans retained firm control of the Senate, providing what White House spokesmen described as a United States and regional election tables, pages A20 and B9-10. foundation on which Mr. Reagan could build a new, more modest governing coalition.

FOR Eric Thompson, it is another weapon in the war against energy inefficiency in his creaking yellow Victorian house, which seems to gobble up oil on cold winter days. In the last five years, Commander Thompson, a physician in the United States Navy, has insulated his north-facing windows, installed two wood-burning stoves and tacked three solar panels onto the roof. Now he is spending $15,500 to erect a glass, wood and brick ''sun space'' on the south side of his 109-year-old home. ''This old house was loose as a goose in terms of heat loss,'' said Commander Thompson, who lives with his wife and two children in Noank, Conn. ''We hope this last purchase will save 20 to 25 percent on our heating bill. And we hope it will be a cheery place to sit on a sunny Sunday.'' Commmander Thompson's hopes are shared by many homeowners who are attracted by the possibility of reducing fuel bills while adding sunny living spaces. They are helping to make this a boom year for the businesses that sell sun spaces, also known as solar greenhouses - glassy additions that are being promoted as a way for homeowners to gain more room while saving energy.