diff --git a/include/DeviceMgmt.hpp b/include/DeviceMgmt.hpp
index daad381..3eaf897 100644
--- a/include/DeviceMgmt.hpp
+++ b/include/DeviceMgmt.hpp
@@ -15,23 +15,35 @@
 using I2CDeviceTypeMap =
     boost::container::flat_map<std::string, I2CDeviceType, std::less<>>;
 
-struct I2CDevice
+struct I2CDeviceParams
 {
-    I2CDevice(const I2CDeviceType& type, uint64_t bus, uint64_t address) :
+    I2CDeviceParams(const I2CDeviceType& type, uint64_t bus, uint64_t address) :
         type(&type), bus(bus), address(address){};
 
     const I2CDeviceType* type;
     uint64_t bus;
     uint64_t address;
 
-    bool present(void) const;
+    bool devicePresent(void) const;
+};
+
+std::optional<I2CDeviceParams>
+    getI2CDeviceParams(const I2CDeviceTypeMap& dtmap,
+                       const SensorBaseConfigMap& cfg);
+
+class I2CDevice
+{
+  public:
+    explicit I2CDevice(I2CDeviceParams params);
+    ~I2CDevice();
+
+  private:
+    I2CDeviceParams params;
+
     int create(void) const;
     int destroy(void) const;
 };
 
-std::optional<I2CDevice> getI2CDevice(const I2CDeviceTypeMap& dtmap,
-                                      const SensorBaseConfigMap& cfg);
-
 // HACK: this declaration "should" live in Utils.hpp, but that leads to a
 // tangle of header-dependency hell because each header needs types declared
 // in the other.
diff --git a/src/DeviceMgmt.cpp b/src/DeviceMgmt.cpp
index ca52a3a..fdf7577 100644
--- a/src/DeviceMgmt.cpp
+++ b/src/DeviceMgmt.cpp
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@
 
 namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 
-std::optional<I2CDevice> getI2CDevice(const I2CDeviceTypeMap& dtmap,
-                                      const SensorBaseConfigMap& cfg)
+std::optional<I2CDeviceParams>
+    getI2CDeviceParams(const I2CDeviceTypeMap& dtmap,
+                       const SensorBaseConfigMap& cfg)
 {
     auto findType = cfg.find("Type");
     auto findBus = cfg.find("Bus");
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@
         return std::nullopt;
     }
 
-    return I2CDevice(findDevType->second, *bus, *addr);
+    return I2CDeviceParams(findDevType->second, *bus, *addr);
 }
 
 static fs::path i2cBusPath(uint64_t bus)
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@
     return name.str();
 }
 
-bool I2CDevice::present(void) const
+bool I2CDeviceParams::devicePresent(void) const
 {
     fs::path path = i2cBusPath(bus) / deviceDirName(bus, address);
 
@@ -62,16 +63,29 @@
     return fs::exists(path, ec);
 }
 
+I2CDevice::I2CDevice(I2CDeviceParams params) : params(params)
+{
+    if (create() != 0)
+    {
+        throw std::runtime_error("failed to instantiate i2c device");
+    }
+}
+
+I2CDevice::~I2CDevice()
+{
+    destroy();
+}
+
 int I2CDevice::create(void) const
 {
     // If it's already instantiated, there's nothing we need to do.
-    if (present())
+    if (params.devicePresent())
     {
         return 0;
     }
 
     // Try to create it: 'echo $devtype $addr > .../i2c-$bus/new_device'
-    fs::path ctorPath = i2cBusPath(bus) / "new_device";
+    fs::path ctorPath = i2cBusPath(params.bus) / "new_device";
     std::ofstream ctor(ctorPath);
     if (!ctor.good())
     {
@@ -79,7 +93,7 @@
         return -1;
     }
 
-    ctor << type->name << " " << address << "\n";
+    ctor << params.type->name << " " << params.address << "\n";
     ctor.flush();
     if (!ctor.good())
     {
@@ -88,7 +102,7 @@
     }
 
     // Check if that created the requisite sysfs directory
-    if (!present())
+    if (!params.devicePresent())
     {
         destroy();
         return -1;
@@ -99,12 +113,12 @@
 
 int I2CDevice::destroy(void) const
 {
-    // No present() check on this like in create(), since it might be used to
-    // clean up after a device instantiation that was only partially
-    // successful (i.e. when present() would return false but there's still a
-    // dummy i2c client device to remove)
+    // No params.devicePresent() check on this like in create(), since it
+    // might be used to clean up after a device instantiation that was only
+    // partially successful (i.e. when params.devicePresent() would return
+    // false but there's still a dummy i2c client device to remove)
 
-    fs::path dtorPath = i2cBusPath(bus) / "delete_device";
+    fs::path dtorPath = i2cBusPath(params.bus) / "delete_device";
     std::ofstream dtor(dtorPath);
     if (!dtor.good())
     {
@@ -112,7 +126,7 @@
         return -1;
     }
 
-    dtor << address << "\n";
+    dtor << params.address << "\n";
     dtor.flush();
     if (!dtor.good())
     {