Compressor assembly

Abstract

A compressor assembly 100 for use in a heat pump comprises a compressor unit 110 and an acoustic jacket 120 at least partially surrounding the compressor unit and including a flexible housing 123, 127

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to a compressor assembly including an acoustic jacket. BACKGROUND Compressor assemblies may be used in heat pumps, including air-conditioning systems. Air conditioning systems may be used to control the temperature of enclosed spaces such as buildings and vehicle interiors to improve occupant comfort. A drawback with known compressor assemblies is that they can generate a significant amount of noise which can disturb people in the vicinity of the compressor assembly. Hence, despite the effort already invested in the development of compressor assemblies, further improvements are desirable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure provides a compressor assembly for use in a heat pump according to claim 1. In this way, the likelihood of the compressor unit making direct contact with the acoustic jacket may be reduced e.g. because the separator is spacing the acoustic jacket from the compressor unit. This may minimize or at least reduce the amount of noise and vibration emanating from the compressor assembly. Also in this way, noise generated by the compressor unit may be absorbed by the soundabsorbing lining of the acoustic jacket. This may also reduce the amount of noise and vibration emanating from the compressor assembly. Additionally, by implementing an acoustic jacket with a flexible housing, the compressor assembly may be made more compact e.g. more compact than where an acoustic enclosure having rigid plate sections is used. Heat Pump The term “heat pump” in this context may be understood to include any system that transfers thermal energy from one location to another. Examples of heat pumps include air-source heat pumps, groundsource heat pumps and air conditioning systems. Preferably, the compressor assembly is for use with an air-source heat pump, a ground-source heat pump or an air conditioning system, e.g. a domestic air-source heat pump, a domestic ground-source heat pump or a domestic air conditioning system where the system is used to control the temperature of an internal (building interior) space by moving thermal energy to / from an external space (to / from the exterior of the building). Compressor Unit The compressor unit includes a compressor to compress fluid for use in a heat pump e.g. an air conditioning system. The compressor unit includes at least one pipe extending from the compressor unit to facilitate transfer of the fluid. The compressor may be housed within an external shell e.g. the external shell substantially surrounds the compressor. In some examples, the compressor unit is elongate having a longitudinal axis. The longitudinal axis may be a central axis of the compressor unit. The longitudinal axis defines an axial direction of the compressor unit. The compressor unit may be substantially cylindrical having a central longitudinal axis. A radial direction of the compressor unit may be defined as a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the compressor unit. The radial direction may be referred to as a transverse direction of the compressor unit. A circumferential direction of the compressor unit may be defined as a direction that encircles the longitudinal axis of the compressor unit. The compressor may have a first axial end and a second axial end where the first axial end opposes the second axial end. The compressor unit may include a power supply (e.g. a rechargeable battery) to power the compressor or be connectable to an external power supply (e.g. mains power) separate from the compressor assembly. In some examples, the compressor unit is mounted (directly or indirectly) on a baseplate e.g. the compressor unit is secured to the baseplate e.g. via welding or with bolts and nuts. This may improve the stability of the compressor unit on the baseplate. The compressor unit may be mounted (directly or indirectly) to the baseplate at the first axial end of the compressor unit (e.g. the first axial end of the compressor unit is proximal the baseplate and the second axial end of the compressor unit is distal the baseplate). The compressor unit may include a primary unit. The primary unit may be connected to a secondary unit via intermediate pipework. A first pipe may extend from the primary unit. A second pipe may extend from the secondary unit. The inclusion of a secondary unit may improve the performance of the compressor unit, for example, by allowing fluid with improved thermal properties to be used with the compressor unit. In some examples, the compressor unit is mounted on the baseplate via a support (e.g. a mounting bracket), the support spacing the compressor unit from the baseplate. In other words, the support defines and maintains a gap between the compressor unit and the baseplate. In this way, the likelihood of the compressor unit coming into contact with liquids (e.g. oil) present on the baseplate may be reduced. It is desirable to prevent the compressor unit coming into contact with liquid as this may negatively impact the performance of the compressor unit. In some examples, the compressor unit is mounted (indirectly) on the baseplate via at least a portion of the separator. The separator may be mounted on the baseplate via the support, the support spacing the compressor unit and separator from the baseplate. In other words, the support defines and maintains a gap between the compressor unit and separator from the baseplate. Separator The separator may be understood to be a structural component that maintains a predetermined spacing between the compressor unit and the acoustic jacket e.g. to prevent (or at least minimise the likelihood of) the acoustic jacket coming into direct contact with the compressor unit (e.g. the acoustic jacket touching the compressor unit). In this way, sound and vibration transfer from the compressor unit to the acoustic jacket may be minimised. In some examples, the separator is located proximal the first axial end of the compressor unit (e.g. proximal the end of the compressor unit that is mounted (directly or indirectly) to the baseplate). In other examples, the separate is located proximal the second axial end of the compressor unit. In yet other examples, the separator may be longitudinally-spaced from either the first axial end or second axial end (e.g. the separator may be located substantially midway between the first axial end and the second axial end). The separator may be substantially planar in a transverse direction to the longitudinal axis of the compressor unit (e.g. the separator may be a disc). The separator may extend around the compressor unit at least partially in a circumferential direction of the compressor unit (e.g. the separator may be a fully or partial annular ring). The cross-section of the separator in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the compressor unit may be circular or elliptical or annular but may also be a polygon (e.g. the separator may have a hexagonal cross-section). The separator may be attached to the compressor unit via bonding (e.g. adhesive), mechanical means (e.g. bolts and nuts) or welding. In some examples, the separator extends outwardly from the compressor unit and engages the acoustic jacket at a position distal to the compressor unit e.g. radially outward from the longitudinal axis of the compressor unit. In other words, the acoustic jacket may be spaced from the compressor in a transverse direction relative to a central axis of the compressor unit e.g. the longitudinal axis. In some examples, the gap extends substantially around (e.g. fully or completely around) a periphery of the compressor unit. In this way, the likelihood of the compressor unit making direct contact with the acoustic jacket is reduced. In some examples, the separator engages with the sound-absorbing lining of the acoustic jacket e.g. the separator does not engage with the flexible housing of the acoustic jacket. In this way, vibration produced by the compressor unit and transferred through the separator may be absorbed by the sound-absorbing lining (e.g. sound and vibration are not directly transferred to the flexible housing which may resonate and amplify the sound and vibration). Hence, vibration of the flexible housing may be reduced. In some examples, the separator is a base portion on which the compressor unit is mounted. The separator may be a base portion which is integrally formed with the compressor unit e.g. the external shell of the compressor unit. In this way, manufacturing of the compressor assembly may be facilitated. Acoustic Jacket As stated herein, in examples, the acoustic jacket includes a flexible housing internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining. In other examples, however, the acoustic jacket instead includes a resiliently-deformable housing internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining. In some examples, the acoustic jacket is substantially self-supporting e.g. the acoustic jacket does not substantially deform under its own weight. The flexible housing may facilitate the self-supporting property of the acoustic jacket e.g. the flexible housing provides structural support for the soundabsorbing lining. In this way, structural performance of the acoustic jacket may be improved. Also, this feature may help better maintain the gap between the acoustic jacket and the compressor unit, e.g., because the acoustic jacket is less likely to deform and / or collapse onto the compressor unit. In some examples, at least part (e.g. all) of the acoustic jacket extends around and along the central axis of the compressor unit e.g. in the form of a tube around the compressor unit. In this way, sound absorption performance of the acoustic jacket may be improved. In some examples, the tubular part of the acoustic jacket may be centred on the central axis of the compressor unit, but it should be appreciated that this is not essential (e.g. the tubular part may be offset from the central axis). The tubular part of the acoustic jacket may have a polygonal cross-section or a circular cross-section, e.g. the tubular part may be substantially cylindrical. In some examples, the at least one pipe extending from the compressor extends through the acoustic jacket such that transverse (i.e. radial) movement of the acoustic jacket relative to the central axis of the compressor unit is restricted. In this way, the likelihood of the acoustic jacket making contact with the compressor unit during use may be further reduced. The pipe may be considered to provide an anchor point for the acoustic jacket at the top of the compressor unit. In this way, sound attenuating performance of the compressor assembly may be improved as the likelihood of direct contact between the acoustic jacket and compressor unit is reduced or, more preferably, such contact is prevented. In some examples, the acoustic jacket may include one or more holes to receive respective pipes therethrough e.g. the first pipe is located through a first hole and the second pipe is located through a second hole. In some such examples, the acoustic jacket may further include one or more corresponding slits to allow each pipe to be removably positioned through the acoustic jacket e.g. passing through both the sound-absorbing lining and the flexible housing. For example, the acoustic jacket may have a respective slit associated with each hole, each such slit extending from its respective hole to a peripheral edge of part of the acoustic jacket. In this way, installation of the acoustic jacket around the compressor unit may be facilitated. The pipes may contact the soundabsorbing lining (e.g. the pipes may not contact the flexible housing e.g. to reduce sound transfer and amplification). In some examples, the acoustic jacket is provided in engagement with the baseplate of the compressor assembly such that the compressor unit is enclosed between the baseplate and the acoustic jacket e.g. the baseplate and acoustic jacket form a substantially sealed space or volume housing the compressor unit. In this way, the compressor assembly may better attenuate sound produced by the compressor unit e.g. because the compressor unit is substantially sealed between the baseplate and the acoustic jacket such that there is no substantial direct sound path between the compressor unit and the external surroundings of the compressor assembly. In some examples, the acoustic jacket is configured such that said engagement with the baseplate is effective to define a space (e.g. a void, a separation) between the sound-absorbing lining and the baseplate e.g. thereby the sound-absorbing lining does not make direct contact with the baseplate. In this way, the likelihood of the sound-absorbing lining absorbing liquid present on the baseplate may be reduced. For example, water (e.g. condensate from the compressor unit there-above) and / or oil may be present on the baseplate, and it is desirable to prevent the sound-absorbing lining coming into contact with such liquids. This is useful because, for example, their absorption by the lining could reduce the acoustic performance of the acoustic jacket. In some examples, the acoustic jacket engages the baseplate via contact between the flexible housing and the baseplate e.g. there is no (or minimal) contact between the sound-absorbing lining and the baseplate. In this way, the sound-absorbing lining may be maintained out of contact with the baseplate. The acoustic jacket includes a main portion and a cap portion (e.g. the cap portion being separably engageable with the main portion). The main portion is configured to define and maintain a gap between the cap portion and the compressor unit (e.g. when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion). In this way, installation of the acoustic jacket around the compressor unit may be facilitated. For example, the main portion may be installed first (it has a tube shape that wraps around the compressor unit) and then the cap portion may be engaged with the main portion to complete the installation (e.g. the cap portion closes the open end of the tube as the baseplate may effectively close the other end of the tube). In some examples, the main portion of the acoustic jacket has a first section and a second section. The first section may be fastenable to the second section e.g. to at least partially surround the compressor unit. In this way, ease of installation of the acoustic jacket may be improved, for example, because the main portion is fixedly engaged around the compressor unit via fastening means. The fastening means may include, buttons, poppers, zips, magnets and / or Velcro®. The fastening means may be bonded (e.g. with adhesive) and / or stitched to the acoustic jacket. In some examples, the acoustic jacket may be configured to permit the first section of the acoustic jacket to overlap the second section of the acoustic jacket e.g. to a variable degree. For example, the degree of overlap may be adjustable e.g. by fastening the first section to the second section at different predetermined fastening positions. For example, the first section may include a first length of Velcro® whilst the second section may include a second length of Velcro®, circumferentially longer than the first length such that the first length can be attached to the second length at different circumferential positions, thereby allowing the degree of overlap between the first section and the second section to be adjusted. It should be understood that Velcro® may be replaced by alternative fastening means e.g. any one of the fastening means listed previously. In this way, conformity of the acoustic jacket with the separator may be improved e.g. to ensure the gap between the compressor unit and the acoustic jacket is properly maintained. The main portion of the acoustic jacket comprises a tubular section of flexible material internally lined with sound-absorbing lining. The cap portion of the acoustic jacket comprises a section (e.g. a planar section) of flexible material; a central region of the section of flexible material is lined with sound-absorbing lining; and a peripheral region of the section of the flexible material surrounding the central region is substantially free from sound-absorbing lining (e.g. there is no (or minimal) sound-absorbing lining in the peripheral region). In this way, engagement of the cap portion with the body portion may be improved. The cap portion may come in a variety of shapes to facilitate engagement with the main portion e.g. substantially circular or substantially elliptical). In some examples, when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, the peripheral region of the cap portion engages the sound-absorbing lining of the main portion e.g. to support the cap portion and maintain the gap between the cap portion and the compressor unit. In this way, the likelihood of the compressor unit making direct contact with the acoustic jacket (i.e. via the cap portion of the acoustic jacket) may be reduced. In some examples, when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, the sound-absorbing lining of the cap portion makes contact with the sound-absorbing lining of the main portion. In this way, the cap portion and main portion may collectively better attenuate sound produced by the compressor unit e.g. without wishing to be bound by theory, the greater the portion of the compressor unit surrounded by sound-absorbing lining, the greater the potential sound reduction. When the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, at least part of the cap portion is located inside the tubular section of the main portion (e.g. the entire cap portion sits within the outer circumferential periphery of the main portion). In this way, alignment between the cap portion and the main portion may be improved. In turn, this may improve sound attenuation performance of the compressor assembly e.g. because there are fewer gaps for sound to escape from between the main portion and the cap portion. In some examples, the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining is greater than the through-thickness of the flexible housing. In this way, sound attenuating performance of the acoustic jacket may be improved. The term “through-thickness” in this context may be understood to mean a thickness in the z-direction of a planar material wherein the plane of the planar material spans the x-direction and y-direction and a conventional x,y,z cartesian coordinate system is used. For example, the through-thickness of the acoustic jacket may be taken in a direction normal to the surface of the acoustic jacket viewed at a suitable macroscopic scale. On this basis, if the main portion of the acoustic jacket was substantially cylindrical, the cylinder having a central axis, then a through-thickness of the main portion would be in a radial direction with respect to the central axis. If the cap portion was substantially planar to the extent it capped the end of the cylindrical tube portion, then the through-thickness of the cap portion would be in a direction parallel to the central axis of the cylindrical main portion. Preferably, the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining in the main portion of the acoustic jacket is greater than 5mm, more preferably between 10mm and 20mm, more preferably between 13mm and 19mm. Preferably, the through-thickness of the flexible housing in the main portion of the acoustic jacket is less than 5mm, more preferably between 0.5mm and 2.5mm, more preferably between 1.8mm and 2.2mm. Preferably, the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining in the cap portion of the acoustic jacket is greater than 5mm, more preferably between 5mm and 15mm, more preferably between 7mm and 13mm. Preferably, the through-thickness of the flexible housing in the cap portion of the acoustic jacket is less than 5mm, more preferably between 0.5mm and 2.5mm, more preferably between 1.8mm and 2.2mm. In some examples, the flexible housing is splashproof e.g. waterproof. In this way, the compressor unit and / or sound-absorbing lining may be better protected from liquid e.g. liquid leaking from the air conditioning system in which the compressor assembly is installed. In some examples, the flexible housing is elastomer e.g. rubber. Specifically, the elastomer may be Etylene Propylene Diene Methylene (EPDM) unvulcanized rubber. In some examples, the sound-absorbing lining is fabric e.g. felt. The fabric may be a non-woven fabric such as felt. The felt may be type A-45 felt. In some examples, the sound-absorbing lining is bonded (e.g. via adhesive) to the flexible housing. In this way, structural rigidity of the acoustic jacket may be improved. In some examples, the acoustic jacket is separable from the compressor unit. In this way, installation of the acoustic jacket around the compressor unit may be facilitated. In some examples, the flexible housing is heat resistant. In this way, a user may be protected from making accidental contact with the compressor unit which may be hot and could burn a user upon contact. The preceding summary is provided for purposes of summarizing some examples to provide a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the above-described features should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Moreover, the above and / or proceeding examples may be combined in any suitable combination to provide further examples, except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following text and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of examples in reference to the appended drawings in which like numerals denote like elements. Fig. 1 shows a compressor assembly 100 in accordance with the disclosure. Fig. 2 shows a top view of the compressor assembly 100 of Fig. 1 with the cap portion 126 removed. Fig 3A shows a side view of the cap portion 126 of the compressor assembly 100 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3B shows a bottom view of the cap portion 126 of the compressor assembly 100 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows a compressor assembly 200 in accordance with the disclosure. The compressor assembly 200 is a modification of the compressor assembly 100 of Fig. 1 to Fig. 3B. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Referring to Fig. 1 a compressor assembly 100 for use in a heat pump comprises: a compressor unit 110; an acoustic jacket 120 at least partially surrounding the compressor unit 110, the acoustic jacket 120 including a flexible housing 123, 127 internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining 124, 128; and a separator 112 spacing the acoustic jacket 120 from the compressor unit 110 to thereby define and maintain a gap between the compressor unit 110 and the acoustic jacket 120. The acoustic jacket 120 includes a main portion 122 and a cap portion 126. The main portion 122 is configured to define and maintain a gap between the cap portion 126 and the compressor unit 110. The compressor assembly 100 is shown with the cap portion 126 removed in Fig. 2. The compressor unit 110 includes a compressor (not shown) to compress fluid. The compressor unit 110 includes a pipe 114 extending from the compressor unit 110 to facilitate transfer of the fluid. The compressor is housed within an external shell. The compressor unit 110 is substantially cylindrical having a longitudinal axis 116. The longitudinal axis 116 defines an axial direction of the compressor unit 110. The compressor unit 110 is mounted on a baseplate 140 via a support 150 spacing the compressor unit 110 from the baseplate 140 thereby defining and maintaining a gap between the baseplate 140 and the compressor unit 110. The separator 112 extends outwardly from the compressor unit 110 and engages the acoustic jacket 120 at a position distal to the compressor unit 110. The gap between the acoustic jacket 120 and the compressor unit 110 extends substantially over the entire periphery of the compressor unit 110 such that the compressor unit 110 makes no direct contact with the acoustic jacket 120. The separator 112 is connected to a base portion of the compressor unit 110 and engages with the sound-absorbing lining 124 of the acoustic jacket 120. The acoustic jacket 120 is substantially self-supporting to the extent that the flexible housing 123 structurally supports the sound-absorbing lining 124. The main portion 122 supports the cap portion 126 when the cap portion 126 is engaged with the main portion 122 as is the case in Fig. 1. This prevents the cap portion 126 making contact with the compressor unit 110 thereby preventing sound transfer from the compressor unit 110 to the acoustic jacket 120. The pipe 114 extends through the cap portion 126 via a hole 125 such that transverse movement of the acoustic jacket 120 relative to the longitudinal axis 116 of the compressor unit 110 is restricted. The hole 125 accommodates the pipe 114 and a slit 129 allows the cap portion 126 to be installed around the pipe 114. The acoustic jacket 120 is provided in engagement with the baseplate 140 such that the compressor unit 110 is enclosed between the baseplate 140 and the acoustic jacket 120 when the cap portion 126 is engaged with the main portion 122. The acoustic jacket 120 engages with the baseplate such that only the flexible housing 123 makes contact with the baseplate 140 and the sound-absorbing lining 124 is suspended above the baseplate 140 and out of contact with the baseplate 140. The main portion 122 of the acoustic jacket 120 comprises a substantially cylindrical section of flexible material 123 lined with sound absorbing lining 124 to the extent that the main portion 122 forms a cylindrical tube around the compressor unit 110. The cap portion 126 of the acoustic jacket 120 comprises a substantially planar section of flexible material 127; a central region of the section of flexible material 127 is lined with sound-absorbing lining 128; and a peripheral region of the section of flexible material 127 surrounding the central region is substantially free from sound-absorbing lining 128. The cap portion 126 is shown separated from the rest of the compressor assembly in Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B. The central region and the peripheral region are clearly illustrated in Fig. 3B where the slit 129 extends through both the section of flexible material 127 and the sound-absorbing lining 128. When the cap portion 126 is engaged with the main portion 122 as shown in Fig. 1, the sound-absorbing lining 124 of the main portion 122 makes contact with the sound-absorbing lining 128 of the cap portion 126. For both the main portion 122 and the cap portion 126, the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining 124, 128 is greater than the through-thickness of the flexible housing 123, 127. Specifically, the through-thickness of the flexible housing is 2.0±0.2mm in the main portion and the cap portion and the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining is 16±3mm in the main portion and 10±3mm in the cap portion. For both the main portion 122 and the cap portion 126, the flexible housing is elastomer, specifically Etylene Propylene Diene Methylene (EPDM) unvulcanized rubber and the soundabsorbing lining is felt, specifically A-45 type felt. In other embodiments, the flexible housing 123 may be provided in the form of a resiliently-deformable housing 123 instead. Therefore, the main portion 122 of the acoustic jacket 120 may comprise a substantially cylindrical section of resiliently-deformable material 123 lined with sound absorbing lining 124 to the extent that the main portion 122 forms a cylindrical tube around the compressor unit 110. The cap portion 126 of the acoustic jacket 120 comprises a substantially planar section of resiliently-deformable material 127; a central region of the section of resiliently-deformable material being lined with sound-absorbing lining 128; and a peripheral region of the section of resiliently-deformable material surrounding the central region is substantially free from sound-absorbing lining 128. For both the main portion 122 and the cap portion 126, the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining 124, 128 is greater than the through-thickness of the flexible housing 123, 127. Specifically, the through-thickness of the resiliently-deformable housing is 2.0±0.2mm in the main portion and the cap portion and the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining is 16±3mm in the main portion and 10±3mm in the cap portion. Fig. 4 shows a modification of the embodiments discussed above and shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3B. The compressor unit 200 differs from the compressor units 100 above in the following ways. In this embodiment, the compressor unit 210 is mounted (indirectly) on the baseplate 240 both via the separator 212 and supports 250. The separator 212 is a base portion on which the compressor unit is mounted. The separator 212 is preferably integrally formed with the compressor unit 210. The supports 250 space the separator 212 (and thus the compressor unit 210) from the baseplate 240. The compressor unit 210 includes a primary unit 211, a secondary unit 213, a first pipe 214, a second pipe 218 and intermediate pipework 217. The first pipe 214 extends from the primary unit 211 and the second pipe 218 extends from the secondary unit 213. The intermediate pipework 217 connects the primary unit 211 to the secondary unit 213. The first pipe 214 and the second pipe 218 both extend through separate holes in the cap portion 226 such that transverse movement of the acoustic jacket 220 relative to the longitudinal axis 216 of the compressor unit 220 is restricted. It should be understood that the inclusion of the additional features of the compressor unit 210 are mutually independent of the compressor unit 210 being mounted (indirectly) on the baseplate 240 via the separator 212 and supports 250. In other words, the embodiment of Fig. 1 to Fig. 3B could be modified to include, for example, the additional compressor unit components without having to also include the indirect mounting of the compressor unit on the baseplate via the separator. Likewise, the indirect mounting of the compressor, at least via the separator, to the baseplate could be introduced to the first embodiment without introducing the additional compressor unit components. The acoustic jacket 220 is substantially the same as the acoustic jacket 120 apart from the cap portion 226 accommodating the first pipe 214 and the second pipe 218. The main portion 222 is unchanged from the main portion 122, and includes a flexible or resiliently-deformable housing 223, 227 internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining 224, 228.

Claims

1. A compressor assembly for use in a heat pump, the compressor assembly comprising: a compressor unit;an acoustic jacket at least partially surrounding the compressor unit, the acoustic jacket including a flexible housing internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining;a separator spacing the acoustic jacket from the compressor unit to thereby define and maintain a gap between the compressor unit and the acoustic jacket;the acoustic jacket includes a main portion and a cap portion, the cap portion being separably engageable with the main portion; whereinthe main portion is configured to define and maintain a gap between the cap portion and the compressor unit when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion; whereinthe main portion of the acoustic jacket comprises a tubular section of flexible material internally lined with sound-absorbing lining; whereinthe cap portion of the acoustic jacket comprises a section of flexible material;a central region of the section of flexible material being lined with sound-absorbing lining; whereina peripheral region of the section of the flexible material surrounding the central region is substantially free from sound-absorbing lining.

2. The compressor assembly of claim 1, wherein the separator extends outwardly from the compressor unit and engages the acoustic jacket at a position distal to the compressor unit.

3. The compressor assembly of claim 2, wherein the separator engages with the soundabsorbing lining of the acoustic jacket.

4. The compressor assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the acoustic jacket is substantially self-supporting.

5. The compressor assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the gap extends substantially around a periphery of the compressor unit.

6. The compressor assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the compressor unit has a central axis defining an axial direction of the compressor unit, and the acoustic jacket is spaced from the compressor unit in a transverse direction relative to the central axis.

7. The compressor assembly of claim 6, wherein at least part of the acoustic jacket extends around and along the central axis in the form of a tube around the compressor unit.

8. The compressor assembly of either claim 6 or 7, wherein the compressor unit includes at least one pipe extending from the compressor unit and through the acoustic jacket such that transverse movement of the acoustic jacket relative to the central axis is restricted.

9. The compressor assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the compressor unit is mounted directly or indirectly on a baseplate, the acoustic jacket being provided in engagement with the baseplate such that the compressor unit is enclosed between the baseplate and the acoustic jacket.

10. The compressor assembly of claim 9, wherein the acoustic jacket is configured such that said engagement with the baseplate is effective to define a space between the sound-absorbing lining and the baseplate.

11. The compressor assembly of either claim 9 or 10, wherein the acoustic jacket engages the baseplate by contact between the flexible housing and the baseplate.

12. The compressor assembly of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the compressor unit is mounted on the baseplate via at least a portion of the separator.

13. The compressor assembly of claim 1, wherein, when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, the peripheral region of the cap portion engages the sound-absorbing lining of the main portion to support the cap portion and maintain the gap between the cap portion and the compressor unit.

14. The compressor assembly of either claim 1 or 13, wherein, when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, the sound-absorbing lining of the cap portion makes contact with the soundabsorbing lining of the main portion.

15. A compressor assembly for use in a heat pump, the compressor assembly comprising: a compressor unit;an acoustic jacket at least partially surrounding the compressor unit, the acoustic jacket including a flexible housing internally lined with a sound-absorbing lining;a separator spacing the acoustic jacket from the compressor unit to thereby define and maintain a gap between the compressor unit and the acoustic jacket, whereinthe acoustic jacket includes a main portion and a cap portion, the cap portion being separably engageable with the main portion; whereinthe main portion is configured to define and maintain a gap between the cap portion and the compressor unit when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion; whereinthe main portion of the acoustic jacket comprises a tubular section of flexible material internally lined with sound-absorbing lining; wherein,when the cap portion is engaged with the main portion, at least part of the cap portion is located inside the tubular section of the main portion.

16. The compressor assembly of claim 13 to 15 wherein each respective section of flexible material is a respective section of resiliently-deformable material.

17. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the through-thickness of the sound-absorbing lining is greater than the through-thickness of the flexible housing.

18. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible housing is elastomer.

19. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sound-absorbing lining is fabric.

20. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sound-absorbing lining is bonded to the flexible housing.

21. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the acoustic jacket is separable from the compressor unit.

22. The compressor assembly of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible housing is a resiliently-deformable housing.

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