Owning a better built house and having sealed it up and all, it turns out it doesn't seem like that would help terribly much. With good design, heat gain or loss is very limited in the first place. We get most of our heat from a few south windows, and body heat. Once I shade the windows, it will be just bodies, which heat the house the same no matter the room.

Plus the building is usually designed as a unit- the envelope is sealed and insulated, room-to-room is not at all.

So the heat or cool just one room strategy I think is only compelling in a poorly designed building.