In this paper a comparative study through experimental work between a new low-cost maximum power point tracker (MPPT) and the conventional configurations of the photovoltaic (PV) regulators under different atmospheric conditions is presented. The comparison is made by means of the energy production obtained by the PV generator of each system. From the results obtained it can be concluded that, depending on the charge state of the batteries, the MPPT can increase the overall efficiency of the system between 2.8% and 18.5% compared with the performance of a conventional system. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.