Ever dreamed of central air conditioning at home but balked at the idea of tearing up your ceiling to make it happen? Xiaomi has swooped in with a clever solution—an unconventional air-conditioning system that mimics central A/C without the need for a construction crew.
At a recent keynote, alongside their new Mi phones and the racetrack-ready Xiaomi SU7 Ultra EV, Xiaomi also unveiled the Top Air Vent Pro—or as I like to call it, “Central A/C Lite.” (Disclaimer: That’s my unofficial English name for it because Xiaomi hasn’t given us one yet. The literal Chinese name translates to “up air outlet.”)
At first glance, the Top Air Vent Pro looks like a typical air conditioner blower installed upside down. But nope, it’s no mistake. The blower’s air vent is designed to be on top intentionally, and it achieves what traditional central A/C systems do: cooling the room without blasting cold air directly at you.
With its air vent up top, the system pulls air in from the bottom. This setup comes with a couple of clever perks. For starters, the downward-facing intake reduces gravity-induced dust accumulation—a fancy way of saying less gunk gets sucked in. Secondly, because it doesn’t need extra space to “breathe,” the unit can be mounted snugly against the ceiling (as close as 2 cm or 0.8”), further mimicking a sleek, central air setup.
By pushing air out along the ceiling, the unit leverages the wall effect of fluid mechanics (yes, Xiaomi brought science into this). This allows the cool air to spread evenly throughout the room, creating a consistent temperature without icy gusts attacking your face.
Now, while this isn’t the first attempt at a top air vent design—Japanese companies like Panasonic have dabbled in it—the concept flopped in colder climates. Why? Because when it’s time to deliver warm air in winter, physics gets in the way. Hot air rises, so those vents up top were only heating ceilings instead of keeping toes warm.
Xiaomi, however, has a solution for that. Enter the V-shaped evaporator and some strategic engineering. While I’m still scratching my head over how reducing the drag coefficient helps heat delivery (it’s giving F1 aerodynamics vibes), the real hero is the adjustable air deflector. This feature lifts and angles itself to direct warm air down to the floor, creating what Xiaomi calls “three-times ultra-thick carpet air heating.” Translation? Toasty feet, happy life.
Other highlights of this futuristic air-con include a dual-rotor compressor for energy efficiency and low noise, a dual-row condenser, and a large cross-flow fan—just to name a few of its bells and whistles.
The Mijia Air Conditioner Natural Wind Pro with Top Air Vent Outlet is available for pre-order in China at 3,999 yuan [CH] (roughly 552 USD). Whether this ceiling-friendly cooling wonder will make its way beyond Chinese borders remains unclear, but for now, it’s certainly giving us some cool ideas.
Images: Xiaomi [CH].
