You will first need to determine how you will sense or measure the various parameters that are of concern to you.
An example - regarding temperature, you can purchase devices that open or close contacts at specific temperatures. The temps may be fixed or adjustable. The output is of course, contact closure/opening.
An alternative would be to use a thermistor with a comparator - giving you a very low power but useful electronic output.
Yet another alternative would be to use a thermistor or RTD to a microcontroller.
It sounds like quite the interesting project - not all that complicated but far more than one can deal with unless you break it down. I know of no book by itself that will outline all the steps for something like this.