Where the semis and terraces are
At the 2021 Census 37.5% of Leeds households lived in a semi-detached house, well above England's 31.5%, and 25% in a terrace (ONS). The semis cluster in the outer estates and suburbs: 59.3% of households in Killingbeck & Seacroft, 57.8% in Moortown and 57.4% in Garforth & Swillington. The terraces are thickest in the inner ring, led by Headingley & Hyde Park at 42.3%.
The building dates follow the same pattern. The Valuation Office Agency puts 18.6% of Leeds properties in the interwar years and another 18.6% in 1945 to 1964, the decades of the big council and private semi estates, with 17% built before 1919 (VOA 2026).
Front or back: the choice you have
Unlike a back-to-back, a through-terrace or semi owns both slopes of a simple pitched roof, and they face opposite ways. That means one of them always faces somewhere in the southern half of the compass, unless the house sits exactly east–west on its plot, in which case both are workable. Here is what the four possible pairings make in Roundhay and in Burley, a terraced area nearer the centre (PVGIS 5.3):
| Slopes face | Better slope, Roundhay | Other slope, Roundhay | Better slope, Burley |
|---|---|---|---|
| south / north | 951 | 507 | 941 |
| south east / north west | 901 | 577 | 890 |
| south west / north east | 885 | 588 | 878 |
| east / west | 756 | 738 | 748 |
Where both slopes are usable, as on an east–west pair, splitting panels across them spreads generation across the day, which suits a household that uses power in the morning and evening. It needs either two inverter inputs or panel-level electronics, and the quote should say which. Use the roof picker to compare your own pair.
Hips, offshoots and dormers
Many interwar and postwar semis have hipped roofs: the side of the roof slopes down too, which leaves trapezium-shaped front and back faces and a triangle on the open side. The panels have to fit those shapes, so a hipped semi holds fewer than a gable-ended one of the same size, and the best array is sometimes on two faces rather than one.
Through-terraces bring their own obstacles. A two-storey rear offshoot, the narrow back extension common on Victorian terraces, can shade the main back slope in the morning or evening depending on which side it sits. Chimney stacks on both party walls take space from each end of both slopes. Dormers from loft conversions take more. None of these rules panels out; they shape the layout and the yield, so the survey should account for each.
The EPC by house type
ONS figures show how far Leeds homes sit from band C. Of those with a certificate, 48% of detached houses, 39.7% of semis and 32.6% of terraced houses reach band C or above, against 73.5% of flats (ONS). By age, the gap is starker: 16.2% of homes built before 1930 and 40.1% of those built from 1930 to 1982.
Solar improves the rating, but for an older terrace insulation and draught-proofing usually come first for comfort and bills. If the house is privately owned and the household's circumstances qualify, the council's Warm Homes: Local Grant works through the whole house; eligibility and its current status are on the funding page.
Sizing from your own use
House type does not settle the size; free roof area and your electricity use do. A useful check is the kWh a year: at the Yorkshire averages, a 4 kW system would cost about £7,900 and make about 3,804 kWh a year on a south slope in Roundhay, by our arithmetic from DESNZ and PVGIS figures (DESNZ). Compare that with the kWh on your bills. The average Leeds semi changed hands for £269,544 and the average terrace for £205,530 in August 2026 (UK HPI); we make no claim about what panels add to a sale price. The costs page covers other sizes, and the battery page what storage adds.
A Roundhay semi and a Burley terrace, worked through
- A semi in Roundhay with a south-facing back, 3.5 kW: about 3,329 kWh a year.
- A through-terrace in Burley with slopes facing east and west, 1.5 kW on each: about 2,222 kWh a year between them.
Both figures come from PVGIS for the nearest point, at 35° (our arithmetic from PVGIS 5.3). The terrace makes less, but at the Yorkshire and the Humber mean of £1,972 per kW for small systems it also costs less in total (DESNZ); compare the per-kW price on the costs page and the output for your own slope on which roof is yours.
Help for terraces
Only 32.6% of Leeds terraces reach EPC band C, against 39.7% of semis (ONS), so many terraced homes meet the council grant's EPC test of band D to G. The household also has to qualify, on income below £36,000, a means-tested benefit or a qualifying postcode, and the scheme is currently full with a waiting list. See solar funding in Leeds for the current status.