The two associations have announced an agreement to collaborate on wireless home area networks (HAN) for smart grid applications.

Plans call for the initial focus of the collaboration to be ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0, which is the next-generation energy management protocol for smart grid-enabled homes based on the existing ZigBee Smart Energy (1.0) profile.

As a result of the link-up, the proposed ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 standard is expected to operate over WiFi technology, which will mean that tomorrow's energy meters will be able to access the internet.

The good news is that the SE 2.0 standard is highly secure and will allow the units to access a HAN, which many experts expect to be a function of wireless home or office routers in the future.

Things appear to be moving quickly on the SE 2.0 standard, as the US Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are already developing a single initial interoperable standard for HAN-compliant devices.

Bob Heile, the chairman of the ZigBee Alliance, said the organisation has has always interworked with WiFi using ZigBee and WiFi gateways.

"Now there is an opportunity for the organisations to collaborate more closely for the smart home of the future, leveraging the intelligence of ZigBee Smart Energy", he said.

"WiFi is a major global success and an important wireless networking technology for the home environment. Our collaboration will help spur further innovation in solutions for the smart grid", he added.

Over at the WiFi Alliance, meanwhile, Edgar Figueros, the organisation's chief executive, said that working with the ZigBee Alliance members will enable more than the extension of the ZigBee Smart Energy profile to WiFi.

"The collaboration will help bring about the vision of a truly interconnected smart home. As a result of this agreement, representatives from each organisation will be able to provide input on one another's smart grid activities to speed any proposed solutions", he said.