Concrete vs Ground Screws

In lightweight infrastructure projects such as photovoltaic power stations, light steel villas, greenhouse sheds, and municipal guardrails, the foundation design directly affects the project cost, construction period, and land reusability. Currently, the two main options are ground screws and traditional cast-in-place concrete foundations. In comparison, using ground screw offers more advantages.

Construction Efficiency

Ground screw construction is faster and does not require a curing period. The traditional concrete foundation construction process is lengthy, involving site excavation, foundation pit modification, steel bar binding, formwork erection, and concrete pouring. After pouring, it requires 7 to 28 days for solidification and curing. In case of rain, snow, or low temperatures, construction will be forced to stop, resulting in a large amount of waste soil and debris on the construction site. Ground screw are factory-prepared steel products that are directly inserted into the soil using a pile driving machine. There is no need for foundation pit excavation or the use of cement, sand, and gravel. Once the construction is completed, the upper structure can be erected immediately. The construction speed for the same engineering volume is 5 to 10 times that of concrete foundations, significantly compressing the overall construction period.

Construction Cost

The cost advantage of ground screw is more obvious. The cost composition of concrete foundation is complex. Besides the main materials such as cement, sand, and steel bars, there are also hidden expenses such as earth transportation, formwork consumables, maintenance labor, and compensation for crops. Therefore, the overall cost is relatively high. For low-load projects such as conventional photovoltaic systems, greenhouses, and lightweight houses, using ground screw can save a significant amount of construction costs.

Environmental Protection and Land Attributes

Ground screw will not damage the original appearance of farmland. Concrete foundations will permanently harden the surface of the ground. After construction on agricultural land or farmland, the land cannot be reclaimed for farming, resulting in high costs for crushing and removing the concrete piles when the project is dismantled, and it also generates construction waste. The construction of ground screw does not damage the original soil structure, and it does not solidify the land, which is more in line with the land management policies for solar power integration and agricultural greenhouses. After the project is completed, the pile bodies can be reversed and rotated for recovery, so the land can be directly restored to farming. Thus, the environmental protection advantages of Ground screws are prominent.

Foundation Bearing Capacity

The stability of the ground screw foundation is superior. Under light load conditions (such as photovoltaic support structures, wooden houses, fences, and billboards), the bearing capacity of the ground screw fully meets the usage requirements, and the force distribution is uniform and stable.

Post-project Disassembly and Renovation

Ground screw can be repeatedly disassembled and reused. The concrete foundation is a permanent fixed base. Once constructed, it cannot be moved. In case of project renovations or relocations, it can only be crushed and removed, making it impossible to be used again. This also leads to a large amount of waste of building materials and labor costs. The ground screw can be disassembled by rotating them in the opposite direction. The complete anchor can be transported to a new project for reuse, making it very suitable for temporary exhibition halls, camping grounds, and temporary prefabricated buildings, etc., for short-term infrastructure projects.