IDENTIFYING LEVERAGE POINTS IN U.S. RESIDENTIAL WATER HEATER STAKEHOLDER SYSTEM AND DECISIONMAKING PROCESS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

摘要

The system of stakeholders impacting water heater selection decisions in the U.S.is complex, with numerous actors and key players engaging with varying degreesof information asymmetry. The limited availability of decision-making tools couldlead to unintended consequences of water and energy saving decisions on publichealth, such as the growth of opportunistic pathogens in water systems. We usea qualitative meta-synthesis to identify key stakeholders, map interactions amongthese stakeholders, identify decisions, roles, and influences, and inventory potentialinterventions. This study identifies and characterizes the important attributes of theresidential water heater stakeholder system (leverage points) that influence the selectionof water heating technologies. The ultimate desired outcome of the work is tofacilitate the selection of water heating components and design configurations thatmeet occupant objectives and constraints while limiting the potential for health andsafety risks due to scalding or opportunistic pathogens. This effort identifies a clearneed for decision-making support tools for selecting residential water heaters, onethat takes a whole-systems perspective in the water heater stakeholder system andtakes advantage of key leverage points for effective intervention.