EnergyPlus Software Development and Technical Assistance

Background
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

The contract focuses on the EnergyPlus software, which is DOE's flagship whole-building energy simulation engine used to assess design alternatives aimed at increasing energy efficiency, reducing environmental impacts, improving economic performance in the building sector, and enhancing occupant comfort. EnergyPlus has been maintained and improved since its initial release in April 2001.

Work Details
The Subcontractor will support NREL in the renewal efforts of EnergyPlus by providing software development assistance to enhance the open-source EnergyPlus engine. The scope includes:

1. Software Development:
- Adding new features and enhancing existing capabilities based on best practices and project needs.
- Addressing prioritized software defects as directed by NREL.
- Collaborating with the EnergyPlus Development Team (EPDT) on code refactoring and modularization according to Object-Oriented coding standards.
- Improving run-time performance through profiling and refactoring.
- Following Agile development workflows including creating peer-reviewed specification documents, design documents, user documentation, and code.
- Providing development support through participation in biweekly iteration meetings and defect resolution reviews.

2. User, Developer, and Technical Support:
- Providing technical support to users via a Helpdesk for debugging purposes.
- Accessing EnergyPlus GitHub repositories for submitting source code, documentation, and unit tests as directed by NREL.

Period of Performance
The contract will support two major semi-annual releases of EnergyPlus planned for delivery to DOE in the spring and fall of each year.