Ireland's west coast gets some of the highest rainfall in the world — and that relentless wet and windy climate is exactly why Irish builders were early adopters of airtight construction, long before energy performance was the driving motivation. In this video, Passive House Accelerator's Ilka Cassidy visits Hugh Whiriskey of Partel in County Clare to understand how a climate this demanding shapes both product development and building practice. Hugh walks through Ireland's rapid shift toward offsite and modular construction — now running at 60–70% of new housing — and explains why factory-built timber frame panels are hitting airtightness values as low as 0.6 ACH, with larger operations reaching 0.14. You'll also hear how Partel approaches wall assembly design through hygrothermal analysis, why variable vapor membranes aren't always necessary, and how embodied carbon awareness is starting to reshape material choices across the EU. If you build in a wet climate and want to understand how envelope systems, airtightness, and off-site construction can work together, this conversation is worth your time.
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