Dugout cooling system fends off summer heat
(From left) Mireya Ibañez, Tyler Dye, Jose Corrales, Hunter Saltzberry, Danny O' Sullivan, and Evan Shelkey of Team 26507 develop a solar-powered dugout cooling system that protects youth baseball players from heat.
As summer temperatures rise across the Southwest, youth baseball players are spending more time competing in dangerous heat. Dugouts provide shade, but their concrete floors and metal roofs often trap heat and restrict airflow.
To help protect athletes, Team 26507 is designing a solar-powered cooling system integrated into a youth baseball dugout that lowers temperatures inside for players.
"It's really different from just shade and a fan," said Mireya Ibañez, the team's lead and engineering management student. "It's about evaporative cooling, even airflow distribution and lowering the overall temperature inside the dugout."
Placed near the back side of the dugout, a small evaporative cooler pulls in warm outside air, cools it as it passes through wet cooling pads before circulating it through ventilation ducts directed toward the players' seats. Three sides of the dugout are also enclosed with protective tarps to reduce air leakage while leaving the front open for visibility.
The system is also self-reliant. The team integrated solar panels to capture solar energy during the day, store it in batteries and power the cooling system without relying on electrical infrastructure.
Testing on the field
Thanks to Ibañez’s previous work in youth programs with the City of Tucson Parks and Recreation Department, the team secured access to a dugout at the Tucson Field of Dreams Park for installation and testing.
“Having access to a real dugout allowed us to move beyond just designing and start thinking about how our system would work in an actual environment,” Ibañez said. “It helped us test our ideas, identify challenges and make sure the design was practical for youth baseball fields.”
They designed the system so the solar panels could be permanently mounted on the dugout roof while the evaporative cooler remains portable on wheels, making installation and maintenance more practical for parks and recreation departments.
Team 26507 is testing its dugout cooling system at the Field of Dreams Park on South Kino Parkway.
Project sponsors SEC Energy and Arzon Solar provided the students with industry expertise. Jay Tourgoutian, principal project manager at SEC Energy, traveled from California headquarters to meet with the team and offer technical guidance as the design evolved.
“I was quite impressed on a couple of occasions with our team,” Tourgoutian said. “During investigation on battery options, they looked at emerging technologies and challenged conventional thinking, proving that the students think completely out of the box and they are focused on their goals.”
“I am extremely impressed with the team, especially Mireya,” added Vahan Garboushian, CEO of Arzon Solar and electrical engineering alum. “She is a self-starter, great communicator and a great team lead.”
The capstone project held special significance for Ibañez, who recently turned her work on the project into a part-time internship with SEC Energy Group working on numerous construction management and engineering proposals.
"I hope it makes youth sports safer, especially in places like Arizona," she said. "Even if it prevents just a couple of cases of heat exhaustion or makes kids a little more comfortable, that's a win in my eyes."