Most office HVAC systems have outlets and return vents in the ceiling.

By moving the return vents to the floor, or on walls near the floor, we could help to reduce airborne pathogens by providing a vertical current that aligns with gravity.

Keeping the return vents clean could be trickier...
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 16 2020

Logical.

Perhaps the return air could be bubbled through a water bath that seeped into the sewer.

[+]
-- whatrock, Apr 16 2020


//water bath //

Perhaps Holy Water could be sprayed into the outlet airstream to humidify, bless the recipients*, and instantly kill any airborne pathogens ?

*R.C. and Orthodox. Other denominations are available. As your philosophy adviser if religion is right for you.
-- 8th of 7, Apr 16 2020


Hmm, my HVAC outlets are in the floor and the returns high up on the walls. Backward. I think that's to push cold air in at the bottom and suck out the hotter air from above. That would mean that a top-down cooling system would be fighting convection. Is that ideal?
-- bs0u0155, Apr 16 2020


Depends on if you're heating or cooling I guess.
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 16 2020


Over a distance of 2.5 m and a temperature differential of (say) 10 C, the difference in density isn't going to be enough to put up much opposition to even a modestly sized fan.

The maths of thermo-syphoning are fairly simple, and besides there will be so much turbulence and mixing that the temperature away from the inlet grille will be relatively uniform.
-- 8th of 7, Apr 16 2020


Where this gets a little tricky is in the filtering; with dirty floors becoming now an HVAC issue; the benefits may be buried by the increased dirt intake.

Adding a UV light in the loop would be a benefit. I'm contemplating doing something like that to my home system.
-- RayfordSteele, Aug 07 2020



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