Every house you drive by pays an electric bill. Empire Energy trains selected people in Tampa and St. Pete to introduce homeowners to better solar and battery options, and to build commission-based income through referral, virtual, or field sales paths. Skills you keep for life. Everyone starts somewhere. We grow together.
#2 Forbes ranked solar sales a top-paying job in America, 2025Every path on this page is commission based. Read the whole thing before you decide anything.
The questions you are already asking
Whenever you are considering high-ticket sales, you want to ask yourself some really fair questions first. Here are our four best answers.
Question one
Every house you drive past has an electric bill, and it is not shrinking. With the solar subscription and the Tesla Powerwall we hold access to, you are not pushing something people do not need. You are bringing a real solution to a real, growing problem in their home.
Question two
Genuinely. You show a family what they pay now, what it keeps doing every year, and a more predictable way to pay for the same power. When staying with the utility is the right answer, you say so. The work gets shared, not sold.
Question three
Solar is a high-ticket, trust-based sale, the same family as real estate and insurance. There is no ceiling on commission work, and Forbes ranked solar sales a top-paying job in America. The pay is real. So is the difficulty. That is why the mentorship matters.
Question four
Both, on purpose. Part-time referral partners and virtual builders keep their job and their schedule. Full-time pros get a real runway and the fastest path to mastery. The skill you build is yours for a lifetime, and nobody can take it from you.
Where you are right now
One
You show up, you climb, and the value lands at the top. Their pyramid. Your hours.
Two
Same effort, different pyramid. Your skills, your partners, your book of business. The value lands with you.
Neither one is wrong. Most of us have done both. Most of us are doing both right now.
Solar works the way real estate works. You can start on the side. Keep the paycheck. Learn the business on nights and weekends. When you are ready to go all in, go all in. Some people never leave part time, and that is a real answer here, not a consolation prize.
You can set up a portal and simply refer the people you already know. Or you can pursue the path of becoming a dedicated solar professional. Both doors are open on this page.
Every path here is commission based.
Here is why that is a good thing.
They call it the Sunshine State for a reason
Did you know your friends, your family, and every single house you drive by is paying more than they want to for electricity? Not just today. Forever. And most of them feel like they have no other option.
Nobody negotiates the power bill. You pay it. It goes up. You pay it again. Thirty years later you own nothing.
In Tampa and St. Pete, that math got personal fast. Since COVID, Tampa Electric and Duke Energy have pushed rates up dramatically. Storm recovery, a strained grid, and fast-growing electric-vehicle demand all land on the one bill nobody argues with. And here is the part everyone learns the hard way: the only time we really need energy is when we do not have it.
That is exactly why we are hiring. And honestly, it is exactly why you are looking at this page.
We are expanding our team and our staff right now because hundreds of thousands of local Tampa and St. Pete families have never seen the information on this page. The fact that you are reading it is not only a good thing. It is a great thing.
The national trend behind your bill
U.S. residential electricity price, cents per kilowatt hour
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual. Nominal cents per kilowatt hour, annual average, all U.S. residential customers. 2025 figure preliminary. Florida utility figures shown separately and pending verification.
Somebody has to have that conversation with homeowners. Honestly. Most of them never get it.
The market
Source: Solar Energy Industries Association. Share of U.S. homes with solar installed, projected to reach 11 percent by 2030.
These figures describe the size of the industry. They are not a projection of what any homeowner will save or what any person will earn.
The shift
A homeowner can now subscribe to solar and a Tesla Powerwall 3 battery. If the home qualifies and gets enough sun, it goes in with nothing up front.
It can feel free. It is not free. It is simply a lower, steadier monthly cost for the power they already buy. Panels and a battery, working together, for one predictable payment.
That shift is the whole reason Empire is hiring right now. Most homeowners have never heard this, and somebody has to be the one to tell them.
Certified installer of Tesla equipment. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Tesla. Powerwall is a trademark of Tesla, Inc.
Or own it outright
Same example home over 25 years: utility only ≈ $265,646. Own it ≈ $33,000. Illustrative, from Unicity's 2026 Florida Solar Guide.
The new solar
Same example home over 25 years: utility only ≈ $265,646. Subscription ≈ $122,342. A difference of ≈ $143,304. Illustrative high-inflation scenario from Unicity's 2026 Florida Solar Guide. Not a guarantee of savings.
Example figures are illustrative and vary by home, roof, sun, usage, and utility rules. A small utility connection fee typically remains. Empire and Unicity quote real numbers on all three paths after a personal solar overview, in writing. Nothing here is a promise of savings. It is not free. It is a different way to pay for power.
What the job actually is
Option one
Buy the system outright or with a loan. The equipment belongs to the homeowner. The long term math depends on the home, the roof, the utility rate, and current tax law.
Option three
* Usually the most expensive option over time.
Sometimes it is still the correct answer. A bad roof. A short stay. Heavy shade. When it is true, you say it out loud, and you mean it.
Your job is to lay out all three honestly and let the homeowner decide. When the right answer is keep your utility, you tell them so. You will sleep fine, and you will get referrals for the rest of your life.
This gets shared. Not sold.
Three options, side by side
Illustrative cumulative cost over 25 years. Lower is better.
Illustrative example from Unicity's 2026 Florida Solar Guide: a home paying about $350/mo, utility modeled at 7%/yr, subscription at a 2.99%/yr contracted escalator, an 11 kW owned system at $33,000. High-inflation scenario, estimate only, not a promise of savings. A small utility connection fee typically remains on every path. Every home is different. Real numbers come from the family's actual bill and a custom design, in writing.
The myth
We incentivize them to look a little closer. Period.
Because staying with the electric company forever is the expensive part. It is renting an apartment forever instead of building toward something you control. It is taking an Uber every single place you go instead of owning the car.
The rent never ends, the meter never stops, and the rate never goes down. Thirty years of utility bills buys a family nothing. Not one panel. Not one hour of backup power. Nothing.
It is better to be in control than to not be. That is true for homeowners, and it is true for careers.
That is what Empire Energy is designed for. We coach you and get you started in this industry so you are working for yourself, never by yourself.
The big picture
Every home already buys power every month. The only question is the source and the price. Here is how solar works: the sun charges the panels, the panels power the home, and any extra energy goes to the grid or into a battery. Not much changes, except it is a safer way to get and store power, with real backup when a storm hits. And the family can track all of it in the Tesla app.
See one for real
This is what you would be walking a family through. No pressure, no tricks. Just their real bill, a real design, and a decision that stays theirs.
Not a guess. The family's actual Tampa Electric or Duke bill and their real usage, off the paper.
Sized to their goals, their roof, their sun, and Florida hurricane code. Never a template.
Unicity crews, permits, and inspections. If the home qualifies for the subscription, nothing was paid up front.
Net metering starts. Same lights, same AC, a new source on the roof.
The old utility bill is replaced with a typically more affordable solar bill. Think $300 down to $250, as an illustration. Every home differs.
Really easy to share. This is also exactly why we are recruiting. Most homeowners have simply never watched this happen.
Who you would be working with
Leadership that decided to teach the game to new people. Period.
Unicity is a Tesla Certified Installation Partner, installing Tesla equipment across Tampa Bay. Certified installer, not affiliated with or endorsed by Tesla.
Our installer is Unicity Solar, a real, licensed solar company installing across Tampa and St. Pete. Trucks, crews, permits, inspections. Empire Energy is their fastest-growing sales team, and we meet at the office every week and do the work ourselves.
We are not a lead vendor. We are not a course. There is no downline and there is nobody underneath you.
Most people do not know how to bring solar up, or what to think about it. So instead of door-to-door sales, we do door-to-door marketing. A real conversation, real information, and a specialist for the families who want to look closer. And we built an entire virtual side for the people who will never knock a door.
We train the people who introduce us to homeowners, because a warm introduction builds a better project than a cold list ever has.
We only teach where we install. Same city. Same streets. Same reputation on the line.
Read this one twice
We earn when a project installs. You earn when a project installs. That is the entire alignment, and there is nothing else underneath it.
This is also exactly why we are hiring. We are not handing you leads from day one, and we are not paying a base salary to sit in a seat. We invest in training people who do the work, and the alignment above is what makes that honest.
If something that looked like this has burned you before, we understand the suspicion completely. Read that list again. Then ask us about it on the interview, and make us answer.
A real path, not a fallback
Not everyone wants to become a full-time solar professional. Not everyone wants to go door to door or build a sales pipeline from scratch. That is exactly why the referral partner path exists, and it is one of the main reasons this platform was built.
Referral partner is not a backup plan. It is a real path for people who already have trust, relationships, and access: homeowners you know, business owners you serve, friends, family, clients, neighbors, past customers. You make the introduction. Licensed professionals handle everything after that. You track it all in SolarLink, and you earn when referred projects install.
Some people will build a solar career. Some people will build a referral income stream. Both are real. The right path depends on how much time, energy, and responsibility you want to take on. Our model was built on a unique 50/50 split, per written agreement, confirmed at the interview.
The platform
SolarLink is the software Empire uses, and it is the nation's most trusted and effective platform for building a virtual business in solar. Period.
Empire Energy is proudly partnered with SolarLink for our virtual professionals. You can absolutely knock doors and work referrals in person. But for those who apply, are accepted, and do not want to go door to door, SolarLink is how you build instead. That is exactly why we are hiring.
You get your own portal. Every introduction you make is tracked from the first conversation to the day the system turns on. You can see where each one stands. You can share it. Nothing sits in a spreadsheet somebody else controls.
The hardest part of commission work is not knowing whether you got paid what you earned.
So we made it something you can look at.
Field teams use SolarLink the way other crews use a knocking app. Referral partners open it for a few minutes when it matters. Same platform. Different gear.
Three roles
Relationship-based · Part-time
Your relationships are the asset. Basically, an affiliate.
For the person who knows homeowners or business owners and wants to make introductions without selling, door knocking, or building a full solar career.
What it costs you: nothing, ever. No fees, no kit, no monthly charge.
Potential to earn $5,000 to $10,000 just by learning and taking part as an affiliate. Not guaranteed. Earnings vary and depend on projects that install. See disclaimer.
Part-time · Virtual · Powered by SolarLink
Part time. Virtual. Keep your job.
Setter track. For the person who wants to earn their way to being hired as a full Solar Pro.
What it costs you: your time, not your money. No cost to train.
Full-time · By selection
Full time. Door to door. Tampa and St. Pete.
The door-to-door marketing role. By selection only.
What it costs you: the most. Your time, effort, and grit. Read the next section before you pick this.
You can move between these, and you can switch any of them at any time. Most people do.
The best path is not the hardest path. The best path is the one you will actually work consistently.
Sometimes we will suggest a different role than the one you picked. That is not a no. That is us protecting the six months you are about to spend.
How it actually works
We don't hand new people leads. Everyone starts as a referral partner or a Solar Professional in training, and you earn your way up. Once you're officially hired as a solar pro, we teach you how to build your own book of business. 100% virtual is a real path, powered by our partner SolarLink.
Come in as a Referral Partner (part-time) or a Solar Professional in training (setter). Get your SolarLink portal. No cost, no leads bought.
Real mentorship and weekly coaching. Learn the product, the utility math, and how to run an appointment, virtually or in person.
Make it, and you're officially hired on. Now we teach you to build your own book of business. The skills stay yours for a lifetime.
Grow your path at your pace. Top producers and serious field people can earn a spot in the Blitz, our monthly field accelerator.
The accelerator
An advanced opportunity for top producers and serious field people. It is earned, never required. Every week we meet at the office and do the work together. Then once a month we go all out for seven days straight, in the field, side by side. Sometimes we run it from an Airbnb somewhere in Florida.
Next Blitz starts in
Enrollment closes before each Blitz begins.
The arrangement
We teach you to build like a business owner, the way a real estate agent builds. You develop your relationships, your referral partners, your schedule, and your book of business. All of it stays yours.
And yes, this is commission only. The next section shows exactly how that money works.
Working for yourself is not supposed to mean figuring it out alone in your car at nine at night. That is the part we fixed.
The structure
Real estate. Insurance. Mortgages. Solar.
Every one of them is a high ticket decision. Every one of them happens at somebody's kitchen table. Every one of them is commission.
That is not a company being cheap. It is the structure of trust based work. The person who earns the trust earns the income. Nobody sits between you and what you built.
If you came here looking for an hourly job, we want you to know now. Not three weeks from now.
It is also the reason there is no ceiling on it.
Solar sales ranked a top-paying career in America.
Reported by Forbes, 2025.
The pay is real. So is the difficulty. That's exactly why the mentorship matters.
No guessing
Solar is commission based. No income is guaranteed. You earn when real projects move forward, install, and qualify for payment under the written agreement.
Referral partners earn without becoming salespeople. Your job is the trusted introduction. Empire, Unicity, and SolarLink handle the deeper solar conversation, the design, the selling, and the fulfillment. You track it all and earn when referred projects install.
For full-time, we do not throw hires into the deep end with nothing, and 99 percent of solar companies do. Full-time gets a runway. Part-time gets freedom. Both get no ceiling.
One more thing, straight from our playbook: we take unlimited part-time reps, but the full-time draw program comes with hands-on training and real attention. So it is capped, and it is selective. When leadership invests in someone, they go all in.
Full-time · Your floor
A draw is not a handout. It is your own future commission advanced early, so the first stretch never breaks you. Hit the minimum of one qualified appointment a day and the floor holds. You always keep whichever is bigger, the draw or what you earned.
Full-time · The next gear
Ten qualified appointments a week. That is two a day. The program is capped and selective because the training is hands-on, and leadership goes all in on the people they take.
Part-time · Keep it simple
100 percent commission. No base, no quota, no strings. Come when you can, get paid on what you close. The average commission on a closed deal runs three to four thousand dollars.
So what is a qualified appointment? You meet a family, share some information, and if they see a problem worth solving, you set a time for a specialist to walk them through a report for their own home. You open the door. The specialist closes it. Here is one honest day on the doors:
A draw is an advance against your own future commission. It is not free money. Draw programs are selective, conditional, capped, and explained in writing before anyone starts. These numbers are examples from Unicity's applicant guide, not promises. Draw eligibility, commission amounts, and appointment rates vary by person, territory, and activity. No earnings are guaranteed. See disclaimer.
The honest part
This is commission only. Sales is hard, and door to door is harder. Some days are ninety conversations before one real one.
Some people should not knock doors. That does not mean they should ignore the opportunity. It usually means they belong in the referral partner path, earning from relationships instead of doors. That is not a smaller version of this. It is a different one.
But everyone starts somewhere, and everyone gets real mentorship. Nobody is left in their car at nine at night trying to figure it out alone.
The pay is real. So is the difficulty. That is exactly why we lead you through it.
Before you pick the field team
Ninety doors before a real conversation. Some days more.
August in Tampa, which you already understand better than we could explain.
Your face attached to Empire's name in a neighborhood where you buy your groceries.
Rejection from people who are not trying to be unkind. They are just eating dinner.
The training costs you nothing, which means it costs us something. The territory is finite. The reputation is shared.
So the field team is by selection. It has nothing to do with talent. And it is respected here, never required.
It has to do with whether we believe you will tell a homeowner the truth on a Tuesday when nobody is watching.
If that is the role you want, say so, and we will show you the path.
An honest off ramp
Most people who read this page should not sell solar. We would rather you know that today than six months from now. But that does not mean you should leave.
You may not want to knock doors. You may not want to sell. You may not want to build a full solar career. That is okay. If you know homeowners, business owners, or people who trust your recommendation, the referral partner path may be the cleanest way to participate.
If the only thing you ever do is make one introduction for a neighbor, that was worth your time and ours. The portal costs nothing. It stays yours. Open it when it makes sense.
And even part-time, you can genuinely win here. Our model was built on a unique 50/50 split, per written agreement, confirmed at the interview.
The questions you were not going to ask
One last question
Before we ever talk about an interview, answer one question honestly, in your own head, where nobody is watching: when times get tough, what will you do?
This applies to every path on this page. Referral partner, solar professional in training, and field team. Committed looks different in each one, but it is the same decision.
We are going to ask you about your goals, because we want to help you choose the path that actually fits. A few quick questions. About two minutes. Nobody gets locked into anything.
One more thing. On our interview call, ask me about the section titled You don't pay us anything. I will know you read the whole page.