The Difference Between PWM and MPPT Solar Charge Controllers
The crux of the difference is:
①With a PWM controller, the current is drawn out of the panel at just above the battery voltage, whereas.
②With an MPPT solar charge controller the current is drawn out of the panel at the panel "maximum power voltage" (think of an MPPT controller as being a "smart DC-DC converter").
You often see slogans such as "you will get 20% or more energy harvesting from an MPPT controller". This extra actually varies significantly and the following is a comparison assuming the panel is in full sun and the controller is in bulk charge mode. Ignoring voltage drops and using a simple panel and simple math as an example:
Panel maximum power current (Imp) = 5.0A
Panel maximum power voltage (Vmp) = 18V
Battery voltage = 13V (battery voltage can vary between say 10.8V fully discharged and 14.4V during absorption charge mode). At 13V the panel amps will be slightly higher than the maximum power amps, say 5.2A.
With a PWM controller, the power drawn from the panel is 5.2A * 13V = 67.6 watts. This amount of power will be drawn regardless of the temperature of the panel, provided that the panel voltage remains above the battery voltage.
With an MPPT controller the power from the panel is 5.0A * 18V = 90 watts, i.e. 25% higher. However this is overly optimistic as the voltage drops as temperature increases; so assuming the panel temperature rises to say 30°C above the standard test conditions (STC) temperature of 25°C and the voltage drops by 4% for every 10°C, i.e. total of 12% then the power drawn by the MPPT will be 5A * 15.84V = 79.2W i.e. 17.2% more power than the PWM controller.
In summary, there is an increase in energy harvesting with the MPPT controllers, but the percentage increase in harvesting varies significantly over the course of a day.
