A method and system for utilizing the heat dissipated by quiescent IC leakage currents to control the start-up temperature of components. A temperature control sub-system utilizes a thermal sensor to sense the junction temperature of the component. When the temperature is below an operating threshold, the control sub-system applies power to the component, and the component is self-heated due to the quiescent leakage current inherent to the component. This quiescent self-heating property serves as a source of pre-heat to elevate the temperature of the component, until the temperature, as indicated by the thermal sensor, rises above the minimum specified operating temperature of the component. The system may then be reliably initialized by applying full system power, and triggering a hardware reset or defined initialization sequence/procedure. Once the component(s) is operational, self-heating continues to maintain the component's temperature above the minimum operating threshold.