My main concern is if the pipes will freeze in winter without thermostat controlled heat.

Your hvac contractor should be able to setup a controls package to allow the two systems to interact with one another.Be advised many heat pump thermostats are more expensive then usual thermostats because they’re specially designed for that piece of equipment and you cannot use something like a nest or an ecobee.

In addition to what has already been said, you may want to get a WiFi enabled thermostat to keep an eye on your HVAC, especially when it's empty. 

Well that shows you how much I know about HVAC. lol Really can't justify the expense anyway at the moment but we are doing some repairs today on the duct insulation and installing a programable thermostat.

I use WIFI thermostats.

We also use nest thermostats and outdoor cam to monitor.

And put a lock on the thermostat in January :)

As much of us lives in the bottom 2/3 of the space, thermostats will be cranked.

I plan on handling everything remotely and wanted to get some input on products you guys might use such as keyless entry locks, security cams and wireless thermostats etc.Any suggestions would be wonderful!

We then were able to switch out the thermostats to Chicago controls max 71 degree thermostats.