Maximum Number of Zones

[HereComesTheRain]

Connecting GND to the hc595 should be as short as possible and the best is connecting all hc595 to a common GND.  You could use the bottom rail for it as long as there are no ground loops and everything is decoupled. For decoupling you could connect the top 5v also to the bottom rail and put 2 caps (0.1 + 47uF) on it.

Sorry for all the NOOB questions and asking the same questions more than once. 

Received my 47uF resistors.

I want to verify placement.

Attache one 47uF at each end of the TOP POWER RAIL  Putting the negative lead into the ( - ) and the positive lead into the (+) of the POWER RAIL.  Does it matter which row it is in?  ie Should it be in the very first (+) and (-) or the  (+) and (-) just after the 5v and GND connections from the Pi?

Should I do the same to the bottom rail if I connect the (+) from the TOP to the BOTTOM POWER RAIL as well as add a 0.1 in like fashion.

FYI I swapped out the Pi power supply/charger with a 5v 8 amp power supply hoping that it would resolve the issue at hand but it failed to do so.

I also shortened by half the 5v wires from the BREADBOARD to VCC of the RELAY MODULES.  This also did not have improve the outcome.