A method for operating devices in a ZigBee network comprising ZigBee Green Power (ZGP)-capable devices and non-ZGP-capable devices, both to be controlled by at least one ZGPD device, is disclosed. In one example, the ZGPD device transmits a ZGPD command frame, and, upon reception of the ZGPD command frame from the ZGPD device, a ZGP-capable device: translates the received ZGPD command to a regular ZigBee command compatible with non-ZGP-capable devices, forwards the translated command, and tunnels the ZGPD command using a ZGP tunneling mechanism, wherein the ZGP-capable devices controlled by the ZGPD device execute only the tunneled command, if the controlled application functionality is supported, and wherein the non-ZGP-capable devices controlled by the ZGPD device execute only the translated command, if the controlled application functionality is supported.